Andrea Tonacci

By Andrea Tonacci (Rome, 1944 In São Paulo, brazil, in 2016) was an Italian-Brazilian filmmaker, considered one of the main figures of the Cinema Marginal movement of underground filmmaking in the 1970s, Brazil. He moved with his parents to St. Paul when he was 11 years old. A few years later, he studied Architecture and Engineering at the Presbiterian University of Mackenzie, brazil, but dropped both careers to purchase his dream of becoming a filmmaker. His first feature-lenght film, "Bang Bang" (1971), was recieved with mixed opinions by the Cinema Marginal movement and was screened at the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes film Festival. In 2006, his film, "Mountains to the mess" got him to the Kikitos for best photography, best picture and best director at the Lawn Festival of the Brazilian Cinema. In 2010, he was given the Order of Cultural Merit, highest honor of the Brazilian Government, to the personalities who contribute to the development of the Brazilian identity and culture. He passed away in December 16, 2016, a victim of pancreatic cancer.