In Memoriam Umberto Rossi

Umberto Rossi, at the age of 85 and after a long illness, passed away on January 18 in his city, Genova. He was a film and theater critic, film historian, popularizer, traveler, and brilliant lecturer. He loved engaging with the audience and attended dozens of festivals, where he was particularly well known among industry professionals. In times when the Internet was nothing more than a science fiction dream, colleagues joked about his incredible memory and relied on his knowledge to avoid inaccuracies, sometimes seeking information about lesser-known festivals that he was familiar with, having attended them as a critic, selector, or juror, especially for FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique), for which he was the Italian representative for several years, always supportive of younger generations.

He had turned his passion for cinema into a profession. Initially employed at a bank in a managerial role, while still young, and with the support of his wife Isa, he left his “secure job” for the adventure of becoming a writer (publishing numerous books), journalist, and film critic.

In 1977, he was among the founders of Telecittà, a left-leaning private broadcaster in Genova. Through various film columns, he introduced generations of Genoese, and beyond, to the seventh art.

With the website https://cinemaeteatro.com/ (practically inactive since 2021 due to his illness), he created an important reference point for Italian film criticism, providing timely reviews, festival reports, and contributions from trusted collaborators.

It was hard to find a festival he didn’t know. Siberia, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Romania, the Czech Republic, Turkey, India, and many other countries. Naturally, he was a regular at festivals in Venice (where he hosted press conferences for many years), Pesaro, Lecce, and several others in Italy.

Among his key influences were Eduardo De Filippo, François Truffaut, and Ingmar Bergman. While he followed blockbusters, he preferred art-house cinema, writing for major publications such as L’Unità, Il Lavoro, Cineforum, and Cinecritica.

In his other great passion, he closely followed the birth and development of the Teatro della Tosse—founded in Genova in 1975, now celebrating its fiftieth anniversary—cementing his friendship with Tonino Conte, Lele Luzzati, and the group of enthusiastic founders.

From the first congress of the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI), he was actively involved in various roles within the assembly and the national board. He also played a key role in programming films at the Ritz d’Essai cinema in Genoa, entrusted to the Ligurian Group of Film Critics (SNCCI), a well-regarded entity at the European level.

In more than three years of continuous hospitalizations he managed to overcome Covid (which struck him multiple times) and countless other complications.

Despite everything, death found him still fully active, working on a monograph about 1970s Indian cinema, which he had hoped to present at La Stanza del Cinema at Palazzo Ducale, during one of the bi-monthly meetings of the Ligurian Critics Group with film enthusiasts—a tradition that remains vibrant.

Throughout this time, he could always count on the care and love of his wife Isa (his companion also at various festivals and congresses) and his son Daniele.

Furio Fossati
©FIPRESCI 2025