Secular funeral of filmmaker Ettore Scola held in Rome

(AGI) Jan 22 - The "secular funeral" of Italian filmmaker Ettore Scola, who died on Tuesday, was held at the arthouse Casa del Cinema in Rome on Friday, where Scola had celebrated his 70th and 80th birthdays. Master of Ceremonies Felice Laudadio, founder and director of the cinema, said that his late friend had always wanted to be seen off with a party. There were speeches from the stage (which at the family's explicit request had to be "amusing, which he would have found funny") and a final toast to his memory. His wife Gigliola, who attended with their daughters Silvia and Paola and several grandchildren, said in the final speech of the day that her husband had envisaged his death and his funeral along the lines of those in the film he co-directed - Viva l'Italia - in which a group of comedians, including Alberto Sordi, see off a colleague's coffin the only way they know how, by making people laugh. The congregation included filmmakers Citto Maselli, Giuliano Montaldo, Carlo Verdone, Paolo Virzi, Giuseppe Tornatore and Gabriele Muccino, the actors Stefania Sandrelli, Franco Nero, Pif and Gigi Proietti, left-wing politicians Massimo D'Alema, Walter Veltroni, Nichi Vendola, Nicola Zingaretti and Stefano Fassina, intellectuals Dacia Maraini and Raffaele La Capria, and figures from the film world such as Aurelio De Laurentiis, Roberto Cicutto and Giancarlo Abete. There were also many members of the public, who applauded the speeches by Scola's friends and colleagues. Carlo Verdone was first to speak, noting that Scola was "not just a tremendous artist, but a good man. I owe him a great deal for his ability to put humanity at the very heart of his films." He said that Scola's greatest achievement was to "make Italian comedy known and respected abroad. The fact that he succeeded was thanks to writers like Scola, Mario Monicelli, Pietro Germi and many, many others." He was followed by Giuseppe Tornatore, Paolo Virzi and Stefania Sandrelli (who was overcome with emotion and had to stop at several points), Pif (who read out a marvellous, ironic letter to Scola, with whom he worked on the last film by his daughters Silvia and Paola) and Giuliano Montaldo. Walter Veltroni, Scola's old friend and party colleague, gave an emotional valediction, citing a dedication he made him some years ago and emphasising his great prowess as an artist and intellectual, and his courage "in taking on the role of Italian Communist Party shadow minister in a shadow government led by a premier called Achille". As the ceremony drew to a close, all those present raised their glasses and drank a toast to Ettore Scola. (AGI). .