Pier Paolo Pasolini

The Italian film director and poet was born in Bologna in 1922. He was dismissed from his teaching post when his homosexuality became general public knowledge. He left for Rome, working first as a writer and journalist. In 1955 he published his first novel, Ragazzi di vita. In the 1960s he discovered film as a medium for his social criticism, and films such as Accattone and Mamma Roma brrought him international acclaim. In 1975, Pasolini was murdered.