An Homage to Pier Paolo Pasolini

Forty years ago today, we lost Pier Paolo Pasolini—the celebrated Italian filmmaker, actor, poet, novelist, journalist, playwright, painter, and public intellectual. On November 2, 1975, Pasolini was found brutally murdered on a beach in Ostia, Italy, just weeks before the scheduled premiere of his final work, Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom. (A young man was convicted of the killing, but the case remains in dispute.) Pasolini, whose leftist beliefs and homosexuality made him a controversial figure in his time, is now considered one of cinema's most challenging and complex artists. Today, the reminder of his mysterious, all-too-sudden death offers a moment for bittersweet reflection on the brilliant mind behind such films as Mamma Roma, The Decameron, Trilogy of Life, and many more masterpieces.

To commemorate the anniversary of Pasolini's death, the French distributor Carlotta Films has released a video compilation of snippets from some of his unforgettable cinema contributions. Additionally, from November 4 to 22, Pasolini fans in Istanbul will have the opportunity to view an extensive lineup of the auteur's work at the Pera Museum, which is teaming up with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present a retrospective of Pasolini’s films.