Francesco Zippel: Last News

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Francesco Zippel’s Sergio Leone doc, which premieres on Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival, is the first portrait of the Italian master made with full support of his children Raffaella and Andrea. Titled “Sergio Leone: The Man Who Invented America,” the high-profile doc is premiering in the Venice Classics section for docs on cinema. It features an impressive list of voices holding forth on what makes Leone special for them. Among these are: Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Giuseppe Tornatore, Frank Miller, Darren Aronofsky, Damien Chazelle and Robert De Niro (see clip). But aside from Leone’s visionary talent as a director what emerges is that as his career escalated from the so-called “Dollars Trilogy” to “Once Upon a Time in the West” through to his final masterpiece, “Once Upon a Time in America,” Leone’s life was steeped in two inextricably linked passions: film and family. 

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: London-based production studio Pulse Films is expanding its global footprint with the addition of an office in Milan, Italy.The move is part of a larger partnership with local indie Indiana Production, which has recent credits including Liam Neeson pic Made In Italy and The Burnt Orange Heresy. The endeavor will see Pulse produce Italian content across film, docs, TV, music and commercials under the banner Pulse Films Italia.Kicking off the venture is a feature documentary about legendary Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, which will be made in co-production with the Leone Film Group.