Valeria Zurlini essays BAM Cinematek recently chose to feature the films of Italian Director Valerio Zurlini. Zurlini isnt mentioned in many of the putative histories of Italian cinema, yet he is one of the most noteworthy Italian directors of all time. Zurlinis canon of films were most recently screened at The National Gallery of Art, in February of 2001, and have also been screened throughout Canada, and at The Pacific Cinematheque, Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, and Walter Reade Theater within the last two years. Valerio Zurlini was born in Bologna in 1926 to an affluent family. Prior to directing films, Zurlini studied both law and art history. Zurlini said that studying art helped him to develop an intuitive approach to the composition of images, and that going to the movies on a regular basis instilled in him an understanding of cinematic rhythm, presumably reinforced and deepened by his long-standing collaboration with composer Mario Nascimbene (Moller).
