LETO, MARCO

(1931-)

Critic, screenwriter, director. After graduating from university with a degree in law, Leto enrolled at theCentro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. He subsequently worked as a film critic forIl Globo, while also serving as an assistant to directorsMario Monicelli,Florestano Vancini, andRenato Castellani. In 1963 he began working for state television and for a period also held the post of artistic director at the IstitutoLUCEbefore directing his first feature,La villeggiatura(Black Holiday, 1972), a perceptive analysis of Fascism widely regarded as his best film and for which he received numerous awards, including aNastro d'argentoand the Mario Gromo Award for Best Director. While continuing to produce a host of award-winning programs for television, he directed his second feature film,Al piacere di rivederla(Till We Meet Again, 1976). He taught at the Centro Sperimentale between 1983 and 1987 and coauthored several novels before directingUna donna spezzata(The Woman Destroyed, 1988), closely followed byL'uscita(The Exit, 1989) andA proposito di quella strana ragazza(About That Foreign Girl, 1989), both of which tackled the difficult theme of political terrorism. He subsequently directedL'inchiesta(The Investigation, 1991), adapted from one of his earlier novels, and worked as a director of dubbing while also publishing another novel, a neo-noir titledL'intrattenimento(Entertainment, 2001).