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{{Short description|Italian film director and screenwriter (1931–2018)}}

'''Ermanno Olmi''' ( born [[July 24]], [[1931]] ) is a noted italian director. Olmi's films fit snuggly in to the artistic mold of Italian Neo-realism, though Olmi would argue (and does argue, in an interview found on the Criterion Edition DVD of his 1961 film, Il Posto) that this is the artistic tradition he is responding against. Olmi's films, like most of those considered to be a product of the neo-realist movement, feature non-actors performing in authentic locations, are shot in long, slow takes, and generally contain some sort of social commentary, though rarely do the neo-realists wear their political opinions on their sleeves.

{{Infobox person

| name = Ermanno Olmi

| image = Ermanno Olmi.jpg

| caption = Olmi in 2013

| birth_date = {{Birth date |1931|7|24|df=yes}}

| birth_place = [[Bergamo]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|5|7|1931|7|24|df=yes}}

| death_place = [[Asiago]], Italy

| occupation = [[Film director]]<br />[[Screenwriter]]<br />[[Cinematographer]]<br />[[Film editor]]

| years_active = 1953–2018

}}

'''Ermanno Olmi''' (24 July 1931 – 7 May 2018)<ref>[http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/cinema/2018/05/07/news/e_morto_ermanno_olmi-195723310/ Lutto nel cinema, è morto Ermanno Olmi] {{in lang|it}}</ref><ref name=":1">Lane, John Francis (May&nbsp;7, 2018). "[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/07/ermanno-olmi-obituary Ermanno Olmi obituary]". ''[[The Guardian]]''. theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018.</ref><ref name="hr">{{cite news |last1=Bartlett |first1=Rhett |title=Ermanno Olmi, Palme d'Or-Winning Director of 'The Tree of Wooden Clogs,' Dies at 86 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-09-27-0209270374-story.html |access-date=4 June 2023 |work=Hollywood Reporter |date=7 May 2018}}</ref> was an Italian film director and screenwriter best known for directing ''[[Il Posto]]'' (1961) and ''[[The Tree of Wooden Clogs]]'' (1977), which won the [[Palme d'Or]]. Throughout his career Olmi blended [[Italian neorealism]] with Christian humanism, with many of his films following humble characters through the spiritual trials of harsh conditions.

== Early life ==

{{bio-stub}}

Olmi was born to a working-class Catholic family in [[Bergamo]], in the [[Lombardy]] region in northern Italy, and raised in nearby [[Treviglio]].<ref name="Roberts">[[Sam Roberts (newspaper journalist)|Roberts, Sam]] (May&nbsp;8, 2018). "[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/obituaries/ermanno-olmi-whose-films-captured-humble-lives-dies-at-86.html Ermanno Olmi, Whose Films Captured Humble Lives, Dies at 86]". ''[[The New York Times]]''. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-05-12. Print version, May&nbsp;10, 2018, p.&nbsp;A25.</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilneorealismo.com/en/ermanno-olmi.php|title=Ermanno Olmi – biography – The Neorealism|website=www.ilneorealismo.com|language=en|access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Young|first=Deborah|title=The Tree of Wooden Clogs: The Sacredness of Life as Understatement|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4425-the-tree-of-wooden-clogs-the-sacredness-of-life-as-understatement|website=[[The Criterion Collection]]|publisher=The Criterion Collection|access-date=8 July 2019|date=12 February 2017|quote=Born in the Lombard province Bergamo to a working-class family with deep Catholic roots...}}</ref>

When Olmi was three years old, his family moved to [[Milan]], where his parents found work with the utility company Edison-Volta.<ref name="Roberts" /> At age 16, Olmi began working there as a messenger. Olmi was initially interested in architecture, but was inspired to pursue cinema by the works of [[Roberto Rossellini]]. He began taking art classes and convinced Edison-Volta to start a documentary division. As head of the new division, Olmi made as many as 40 corporate documentaries.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name="Roberts" />

[[Category:1931 births|Olmi, Ermanno]]

[[Category:Italian film directors|Olmi, Ermanno]]

Olmi's first feature film, ''Time Stood Still'' began as a corporate documentary about a hydroelectric dam.<ref name="Roberts" />

== Career ==

Olmi's first scripted film was the acclaimed ''[[Il Posto]]'', which follows a young man entering corporate life. Parts of the story were drawn from Olmi's experiences working in Milan. The film starred non-professional actor Loredana Detto, who Olmi would later marry.<ref name="Roberts" />

Following from his humble start in corporate documentaries, Olmi typically helmed minimal productions, often writing, directing, filming, and editing the films himself.<ref name="young" />

Perhaps his best known film is ''[[The Tree of Wooden Clogs]]'' (''L'Albero degli zoccoli''), which was awarded the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[1978 Cannes Film Festival]]. The film drew heavily on Olmi's grandmother's stories about peasant life in agricultural regions of Italy.<ref name=":1" /> In 1983 his film ''[[Walking, Walking]]'' was screened out of competition at [[1983 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]. In 1988, his ''[[La leggenda del santo bevitore]]'' ([[The Legend of the Holy Drinker]]), based on the novella by [[Joseph Roth]] and starring [[Rutger Hauer]], won the [[Golden Lion]] at the [[Venice Film Festival]] as well as a [[David di Donatello]] award.

In 1982, Olmi founded Ipotesi Cinema, a film school in the village of [[Bassano del Grappa]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vivarelli |first1=Nick |title=Ermanno Olmi, 'Tree of Wooden Clogs' Director, Dies at 86 |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/global/ermanno-olmi-dead-dies-tree-of-wooden-clogs-1202800882/ |access-date=6 June 2023 |work=Variety |date=7 May 2018}}</ref>

His ''[[The Profession of Arms (2001 film)|The Profession of Arms]]'' ''([[Il mestiere delle armi]])'' also won a [[David di Donatello]] award.

== Awards ==

*1978: [[Palme d'Or]] for ''[[The Tree of Wooden Clogs]]''

*1988: [[Golden Lion]] for ''[[The Legend of the Holy Drinker (film)|The Legend of the Holy Drinker]]''

*2004: [[Leopard of Honour]]

*2008: Honorary [[Golden Lion]]

=== David di Donatello ===

*1962: [[David di Donatello for Best Director|Best Director]] for ''[[Il Posto]]''

*1989: [[David di Donatello for Best Director|Best Director]] for ''[[The Legend of the Holy Drinker (film)|The Legend of the Holy Drinker]]''

*2002: [[David di Donatello for Best Director|Best Director]] for ''[[The Profession of Arms (2001 film)|The Profession of Arms]]''

=== Nastro d'Argento ===

*1979: [[Nastro d'Argento for Best Director|Best Director]] for ''[[The Tree of Wooden Clogs]]''

*1989: [[Nastro d'Argento for Best Director|Best Director]] for ''[[The Legend of the Holy Drinker (film)|The Legend of the Holy Drinker]]''

== Filmography ==

*''[[Time Stood Still (1959 film)|Time Stood Still]]'' (1959)

*''[[Il Posto]]'' (1961)

*''[[The Fiances]]'' (1963)

*''[[A Man Named John]]'' (1965)

*''[[One Fine Day (1968 film)|One Fine Day]]'' (1968)

*''[[In the Summertime (film)|In the Summertime]]'' (1971)

*''[[The Circumstance]]'' (1973)

*''[[The Tree of Wooden Clogs]]'' (1978)

*''[[Walking, Walking]]'' (1983)

*''[[Long Live the Lady!]]'' (1987)

*''[[The Legend of the Holy Drinker (film)|The Legend of the Holy Drinker]]'' (1988)

*''[[The Secret of the Old Woods]]'' (1993)

*''[[Genesis: The Creation and the Flood]]'' (1994)

*''[[The Profession of Arms (2001 film)|The Profession of Arms]]'' (2001)

*''[[Singing Behind Screens]]'' (2003)

*''[[One Hundred Nails]]'' (2007)

*''[[The Cardboard Village]]'' (2011)

*''[[Greenery Will Bloom Again]]'' (2014)

== Legacy ==

Olmi has been the subject of many retrospectives. In 2019, the [[Austrian Film Museum]] conducted a complete retrospective of Olmi's work (excluding only his short films) – together with the films of [[Federico Fellini]] – in collaboration with the [[Cineteca Nazionale]] and the "Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Vienna".<ref>{{cite web |title=Filmmuseum – Programmarchiv |url=https://www.filmmuseum.at/kinoprogramm/programmarchiv |website=www.filmmuseum.at |access-date=28 February 2019 |language=de}}</ref>

Also in 2019, [[Film at Lincoln Center]] honored Olmi with a two-week retrospective. The series was co-produced by [[Istituto Luce Cinecittà]] and presented in association with the Ministry of Culture of Italy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ermanno Olmi|url=https://www.filmlinc.org/series/ermanno-olmi/|website=Film at Lincoln Center|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=A.O. |title=How Ermanno Olmi Found Grace in the Daily Labors of Italians |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/movies/ermanno-olmi-lincoln-center.html |access-date=4 June 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=12 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Paternò |first1=Cristiana |title=Ermanno Olmi retrospective in New York |url=https://news.cinecitta.com/EN/en/news/95/78957/ermanno-olmi-retrospective-in-new-york.aspx |access-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=Cinecitta News |date=6 December 2019 |ref=cine}}</ref> The films then traveled to Cleveland, where the [[Cleveland Institute of Art]] Cinematheque hosted a seven-part retrospective.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italian film series "Sacred Duties: Films by Ermanno Olmi"|url=http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/events/102308/italian-film-series-quotsacred-duties.html|website=www.pluggedincleveland.com|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>

In 2008 he received the Honorary [[Golden Lion]] at the [[Venice Film Festival]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thelocal.it/20180507/italian-cinema-ermanno-olmi-dead|title='Maestro of Italian cinema' Ermanno Olmi dies|date=7 May 2018|access-date=11 May 2018|language=en}}</ref> He had turned down the same award in 2004, feeling that it would have signified a premature end to his career.<ref name="hr" />

== Personal life ==

In 1959, Olmi moved to the [[Asiago]] plateau, where he would live for the rest of his life.<ref name="Roberts" /> Olmi led a relatively simple life away from the spotlight of the film industry, only rarely sitting for interviews and keeping no copies of his films. Olmi reportedly hesitated to travel by air.<ref name="young">{{cite journal |last1=Young |first1=Deborah |title=on earth as it is in heaven |journal=Film Comment |date=March–April 2001 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=56–60, 62 |jstor=43578417 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43578417 |access-date=5 June 2023}}</ref>

In 1963 Olmi married Loredana Detto, who had played Antonietta Masetti in his film ''[[Il Posto]]'' (1961).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newsmondo.it/ermanno-olmi-morto/cronaca/|title=Ermanno Olmi: moglie, figli e vita privata del regista|date=7 May 2018|work=News Mondo|access-date=11 May 2018|language=it-IT}}</ref> The couple had 3 children; Fabio, Elisabetta, and Andrea.<ref name="hr" />

Olmi died on 7 May 2018 in Asiago. His death was mourned by then Prime Minister [[Paolo Gentiloni]] as well as director [[Martin Scorsese]].<ref name="hr" />

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

*{{IMDb name|0647438|Ermanno Olmi}}

{{Ermanno Olmi}}

{{David di Donatello Best Director}}

{{Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement}}

{{Nastro d'Argento Best Director}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olmi, Ermanno}}

[[Category:1931 births]]

[[Category:2018 deaths]]

[[Category:David di Donatello winners]]

[[Category:Directors of Palme d'Or winners]]

[[Category:Directors of Golden Lion winners]]

[[Category:Italian film directors]]

[[Category:Italian Roman Catholics]]

[[Category:Italian-language film directors]]

[[Category:Nastro d'Argento winners]]

[[Category:Ciak d'oro winners]]

[[Category:Film people from Bergamo]]

[[Category:Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients]]