Unjustifiably considered a “minor director” in the crowded field of post-war Italian cinema, Valerio Zurlini is on the contrary one of the most important Italian auteurs. From April 12th through 26th (with repeat screenings through the 29th), Casa del Cinema will host the series “Viva Valerio Zurlini”, a selection of five among the greatest box-office hits by the filmmaker and screenwriter from Bologna. An author known for his vast culture and timeless elegance, Zurlini worked alone throughout the key decades of Italian cinema, offering spectators the pleasure of his compositional and psychological modernity. The key themes of Zurlini’s work will be presented by the director Marco Tullio Giordana who will meet the public before the screening of Indian Summer (La prima notte di quiete), one of the masterpieces of 1970s Italian cinema, starring an extraordinary Alain Delon. The other films in the programme will be: Violent Summer (Estate violenta), the director’s second film, winner of two Nastro d’Argento awards, one of which was for the intense performance by Eleonora Rossi Drago; Girl with a Suitcase (La ragazza con la valigia), a splendid Verdian melodrama starring Claudia Cardinale, who won the Special David award for best actress; Cronaca familiare, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival; and finally, The Desert of the Tartars (Il Deserto dei Tartari), winner of the David for best film and best director, with an exceptional cast (Jacques Perrin, Vittorio Gassman, Giuliano Gemma and Philippe Noiret, among others), cinematography by Luciano Tovoli and music by Ennio Morricone.