lit a candle 5h ago98 and still listed as honorary president. My uncle went the same quiet way last spring, just stopped one morning, and it still catches me sideways. Ricomincio da tre was one of the first foreign films I ever bought on tape.
Their story
Fulvio Lucisano was one of the most enduring independent producers in Italian cinema, a Rome-born entrepreneur who spent more than seven decades putting films onto screens and helping younger directors find their first audiences. Born in Rome on 1 August 1928, he came of age in a city that was…
Fulvio Lucisano was one of the most enduring independent producers in Italian cinema, a Rome-born entrepreneur who spent more than seven decades putting films onto screens and helping younger directors find their first audiences. Born in Rome on 1 August 1928, he came of age in a city that was rebuilding its film industry after the war. He studied law at Sapienza University of Rome and graduated in 1954, yet by then cinema had already claimed him.
His earliest credited steps date to 1949, when he took part in Anno Santo, a documentary about the 1950 Jubilee. He then worked with Istituto Luce on newsreels destined for Latin America and specialised in documentary production, making hundreds of short works on his own or for Documento Film. Feature producing began in 1955 with I quattro del getto tonante. In 1958 he founded Italian International Film (IIF), the company that would define his professional life. He remained its driving force and, later, honorary president for life, while the wider Lucisano Media Group grew around production, distribution and cinema exhibition.
Across genres, Lucisano's name appears on more than 130 produced titles and, counting distribution, a catalogue often described as exceeding 600 films. In the 1960s he backed international and genre pictures that travelled widely, including Mario Bava's science-fiction horror Terrore nello spazio (Planet of the Vampires, 1965) and the spy spoof Le spie vengono dal semifreddo (Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, 1966). He also entered the spaghetti western cycle with titles such as Thompson 1880 and Due croci a Danger Pass. The 1970s brought thrillers and comedies, among them Cosa avete fatto a Solange? (What Have You Done to Solange?, 1972) and popular Italian comedies with directors such as Steno, Sergio Corbucci and Giorgio Capitani.
A decisive bet came in 1981, when Lucisano produced Massimo Troisi's directing and starring debut Ricomincio da tre (I'm Starting from Three). The film became a cultural landmark of modern Italian comedy and is frequently cited as proof of Lucisano's eye for new talent. He worked with established masters as well: Alberto Sordi's Il tassinaro, Luigi Comencini's Un ragazzo di Calabria, Francesca Archibugi's Il grande cocomero, Lina Wertmuller's Ninfa plebea, and later popular hits such as Fausto Brizzi's Notte prima degli esami. His company remained active into the 2010s and 2020s with comedies and series under the Lucisano banner, carried forward day to day by his daughters Federica and Paola.
Institutionally, Lucisano served as president of ANICA, Italy's national film industry association, from 1998 to 2001. In October 2007 President Giorgio Napolitano named him Cavaliere del Lavoro. In 2009 he received a special David di Donatello for fifty years of career; across his life he collected multiple David di Donatello and Nastro d'Argento honours. The 62nd Venice International Film Festival devoted a 2005 homage retrospective to his work. In 2018, for his ninetieth birthday, journalist Laura Delli Colli published Fulvio Lucisano, sotto il segno del cinema, a portrait of his professional and personal path. Lucisano Media Group, listed on Borsa Italiana's AIM market from 2014, also co-founded Vision Distribution with Sky and other Italian producers in 2015 and operated multiplexes through related companies.
Colleagues remembered him after his death as a producer of the old school: decisive, intuitive, and loyal to theatres as well as to talent. Actor-director Edoardo Leo said the Lucisano family had backed him as a director early and given him freedom to make the films he wanted. Alessandro Gassmann called him perhaps the last of the great old guard of Italian producers. Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli described him as one of the architects of Italian cinema. Francesco Rutelli stressed his tireless discovery of talent and the continuity of that legacy through Federica and Paola.
Lucisano died in Rome on 18 August 2026 of natural causes, a few weeks after turning ninety-eight. His funeral was held the next day at the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, with white roses and tributes from family, friends and the film community. He was interred in the family tomb at the Flaminio-Prima Porta Cemetery. Through IIF and Lucisano Media Group, and through the many filmmakers he financed when they were still unproven, his influence remains visible wherever Italian popular and genre cinema still meets a paying audience.
Biography adapted from Compiled from English and Italian Wikipedia, ANSA, Anadolu Agency, Lucisano Media Group, Venice Film Festival records, and contemporary obituaries (August 2026).. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“Rest in peace, Dad.”
Message attributed to daughter Paola Lucisano announcing his death (ANSA / Anadolu Agency, August 2026)
“One of the great architects of Italian cinema.”
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli, tribute after Lucisano's death (Anadolu Agency)
“Perhaps the last of the old great guard of Italian producers.”
Actor-director Alessandro Gassmann on social media after Lucisano's death (Italian press roundups)
“They bet and invested in my work as director when I had only made a small debut and they allowed me to make the films I wanted and I will be grateful to them forever.”
Edoardo Leo speaking to AGI about being produced by Fulvio Lucisano and his family
“Almost one hundred years of life, tireless discoverer of talent and passionate entrepreneur and dreamer.”
Francesco Rutelli remembering Lucisano after his death
“Dad always adored cinema and the theatre auditorium, which was always his passion.”
Daughters Federica and Paola Lucisano at the funeral, as reported by ANSA (19 August 2026)
“He had imagination and courage.”
Family remembrance reported around the Santa Maria del Popolo funeral coverage (ANSA)
“A direct and decisive intelligence, with the intuitive simplicity typical of the great producers of the past.”
Alessandro Gassmann describing Lucisano's working style in farewell remarks
Photos
2Fulvio Lucisano at a cinema life honour event, Villa Piccolomini, Rome, 2009
Jan 2009 · by People Forever
Fulvio Lucisano at the Ciak d'oro awards, 2015
Jan 2015 · by People Forever
natural causes at that age is still a loss, sorry about your uncle