Not far from Rome, in July of 1914, Giovanna Suso Cecchi was born into a family that valued intellectual pursuits. Not far from Rome, July 31, 2010, Suso Cecchi died, following an illness. Her mother,Leonetta Pieraccini, was a painter. Suso's first screenplay was completed in 1946, when she was 32 years old. Her father, Emilio, had been a well-known writer in the Roman theater. Suso grew up reading screenplays. Her father wanted her opinion and she inadvertently learned the art of writing a screenplay by reading so many of them.
Films by Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Before writing her own screenplays, Cecchi had translated many literary works into screenplay. She translated Michelangelo Antonioni based on Cesare Pavese's short novel, Le Amiche in 1955 and in 1963, one of her more popular works was The Leopard, from Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel, for director Luchino Visconti.
Her first film was almost a translation of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde, but the bombing of Hiroshima inspired the writers to switch projects and focus, instead, on a film entitled Vivere in Pace, which translates as To Live in Peace, which was filmed in 1947.
In a 1999 interview with Mikael Colville-Andersen, published in 2006, Cecchi tells of the film making industry in post-war Italy; "When I began making films it was very inexpensive to produce them...That gave the producers and writers the courage to make the films they wanted to make. Because that is what is important, to make films for yourself and not to think about profits"
Cecchi's role in the Neo-Realism Period
Because filmmaking was an inexpensive way for the working class youth to occupy themselves, Cecchi's crowd of friends used it as a medium for self expression. Neorealism screenplays were written casually by large groups of friends and actors were recruited off the streets, to fill the roles. In the mid 1940's, in post-war Italy, the stories that were told reflected the everyday realities of the human condition in poverty and desperation. The backdrop wasn't staged, it was often the real streets of Italy. Without lighting equipment or other paraphernalia, the script would have to be rewritten if the weather changed, or if an actor didn't show up. The film The Bicycle Thief is recognized as the first in this genre, and Cecchi was one of the writers.
Suso Cecchi married musician Fedele D'Amico in 1938, she leaves behind three grown children: Masolino, Catherine and Silvia. In 1994 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film festival.
References:
Il Messaggero: Addio a Suso Cecchi D'Amico: la sua firma sui capolavori del cinema italiano
The Storytellers - Interview with Suso Cecchi d'Amico
By Mikael Colville-Andersen
Lisa Russell - Lisa Russell is a freelance writer and mom of six daughters. She blogs about their life at lisarussell.org
