Production Consultant, Film
Director/Writer
Aldo Vidali has been an independent filmmaker since 1961. While in Italy, he
collaborated with Federico Fellini on The Strange Voyage of Mr. Mastorna and
observed the making of 8-1/2 and Boccaccio 70 . Vidali originated
a new genre in documentary filmmaking: superimposing fiction on real-life backgrounds. Straw
Hat and the Crown , shown on the Italian R.A.I. Television Network, received
recognition from the Vatican for its subtle moral theme. In 1963 Vidali traveled
to Africa as Second Unit Director of Good-bye Africa , a feature documentary
filmed in South Africa, Southwest Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Zanzibar, Congo,
and Angola. In 1965, Vidali wrote and directed Sunset at Dawn , a predictive
environmental video on the worsening ecological crisis, followed by Trail
to the Stars , a film view of the NASA space program contrasted with America's
pioneering past. After a period of world travel and entrepreneurship, he returned
to filmmaking to assist students in the creation of Life & Liberty in
the Balance (honorable mention, International 2003 EarthVision Film Festival), The
One and Why the Liars Would Silence Him , and Truth is Power (an
award-winning film exposing the need for democratic media reform in the U.S.)
Documentary film director Aldo Vidali, who is also a boat builder, publisher,
world traveler, political and environmental activist, father, and eclectic writer,
plans to style his film, "Deflating the Elephant," in the tradition of the famed
Italian director, the late Federico Fellini, with whom he was associated for
a number of years.
Vidali and his family joined the Resistance Movement against fascist and Nazi
forces during World War II. When he was only 13 years old, he was captured by
the Nazis during the Fosse Ardeatine Nazi dragnet in Rome, but was released shortly
thereafter because of his age. At the time, his family members were sheltering
several Jewish refugees in their apartment to prevent their deportation to death
camps in Germany.
At the age of 18 (1949) Vidali explored the tropical wilderness of the Brazilian
interior selling Coleman lamps and stoves to primitive villages as a way to earn
college tuition. He came to the United States to study geology at the Colorado
School of Mines in 1950. During the early 50s, Vidali prospected in the Mexican
states of Sonora and Durango. After selling his interest in his Mexican mineral
discoveries (Plomo Y Plata de Mexico and Exona) to ALCOA, he returned to Europe
to do documentary film work. It was here that he collaborated with director Fellini
on a project entitled The Strange Voyage of Mr. Mastorna and learned directing
and cinema acting during the Fellini creation of 8-1/2.
As the Italian post-WWII
film renaissance unfolded, Vidali formed a production company which brought
about a motion picture partnership between American and Italian
cinema. In 1961, he formed Autori Associati and joined together
with Michelangelo Antonioni to form Michelangelo Antonioni Gruppo
Internazionale Cinematografico (M.A.G.I.C. Films) in Rome, Italy.
Vidali's documentary works originated a new genre, superimposing fiction on
real-life documentary backgrounds. Straw Hat and the Crown, shown on the Italian
R.A.I. Television Network, received recognition even from the Vatican for its
subtle moral theme set off by contrasting a fairy tale on a background of real
life events. In 1963, Vidali went to Africa as Second Unit Director
of the feature documentary Good-bye Africa, a Rizzoli Production.
He covered South Africa, Southwest Africa, Mozambique, Kenya,
Zanzibar, Congo, and Angola. This exposed him to a wide range
of human beings, both as a director and the liaison officer between
the South African government and the Italian film unit.
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