Roberto Rossellini Biography | Roberto Rossellini Director | Roberto Rossellini Life History

Roberto Rossellini Bio

Roberto Rossellini

Roberto Rossellini was born in Rome on May 8, 1906. When Rossellini was a young boy his father built the first cinema in Rome. Because of this, Rossellini was granted a free unlimited pass to the movie theater. After his father died, Roberto began learning various jobs related to the filmmaking process which earned him competency in all aspects making films. Roberto’s brother, Renzo, worked as composer on many of Roberto’s movies.

Rossellini’s first film was a documentary made in 1938 entitled Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune. Following this foray into the film industry, Rossellini was called in to work as an assistant for director Goffredo Alessandrini, followed by Francesco De Robertis working on two widely successful films in Italy. One possible reason Rossellini may have been able to obtain such sought after apprenticeships was due to his close friendship with Vittorio Mussolini, the man responsible for bringing the cinema to Rome.

Roberto completed his first feature film, La Nave Bianca in 1941. This film became the first in a series known as the Fascist Trilogy. The following films in the trilogy were Un Pilota Ritorna (1942) and Uomo Dalla Croce (1943).

The end of the Fascist regime in 1943 marked a new era in Rossellini’s budding film career. His next three films became known as the Neorealist Trilogy, which included Roma Citta Aperta (1945), Paisan (1946), and Germania Anno Zero (1946). For the latter two films, Rossellini used non-actors in the production. He also included the non-actors input on dialect and costumes to make the film more realistic.

Throughout much of the 1940’s, Rossellini was married to Marcella De Marchis whom he had two sons with, named Romano and Renzino. In 1948, Rossellini received a letter from Swedish born actress Ingrid Bergman, who said she was a fan of his previous films and also offered her services for any up and coming films he may have.

The two had an affair together which resulted in their marriage in 1950. The couple had three children together. They were Isabella (who later became a model and actress), Ingrid (the fraternal twin to Isabella), and Roberto Ingmar. Bergman also starred in several of Rossellini’s films, including Stromboli Terra di Dio (1949), Europa ’51 (1950), and Viaggio in Italia (1953). The three films became known as Ingrid’s Trilogy. The film Stromboli earned Rossellini a paycheck of $150,000.

Rossellini was then asked by the Indian Prime Minister to make a documentary about India in 1957. While filming, Roberto began an affair with Sonali Dasgupta, who was the wife of Rossellini’s assistant in India. After the affair became public knowledge, the Prime Minister asked Rossellini to leave India. Eventually Roberto and Sonali married and he adopted her son, Gil.

In 1977, Rossellini was president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. Shortly thereafter, the legendary filmmaker died of a heart attack at the age of 71.