Sunday morning on the 7th of February, we lost, at the age of 97, a legendary international artist for talent and a master for civil dedication having taught in the last part of his life at the Centro Sperimentale of Cinematografia in Rome.

He will remain unforgotten, not only by the young cinematographers which have learned from him directly the rudiments and refinements of the profession but also from all the cinematographers worldwide who have been inspired by the sumptuous images of Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord”, Luchino Visconti’s ”The Leopard”, Mike Nichols’s ”Carnal Knowledge” and Bob Fosse’s ”All that Jazz” just to name few of his masterpieces.

Giuseppe Rotunno, familiarly called ”Peppino”, brought with much simplicity his extraordinary creative personality from one film to another. In Italy, where he has been President of the AIC and in the USA as an active member of the ASC, with a mixture of professional rigour and human understanding that derived to him from the dramatic experience lived as an anti-fascist prisoner during the second world war of which he learned the severe lection.

The human value of this super shining icon of our profession has been equal to his modesty expressed by a generous conception of friendship that has warmed the hearts of many. A passionate partisan of IMAGO since the very beginning, in 2008 ”Peppino” received the first award ever to be presented by the Federation. He is survived by his wife Graziolina, three daughters and seven grandsons.

Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC