Ettore Scola is one of the most appreciated names in Italian cinema. His name is associated with seminal works of contemporary Italian cinema such as 1974 C’eravamo Tanto Amati (We all Loved Each Other so Much), starring Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman, Stefania Sandrelli and Aldo Fabrizi, 1977 Una Giornata Particolare (Special Day), starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni (for which he won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978) and 1987 La Famiglia (The Family), with Vittorio Gassman and Stefania Sandrelli. His last work dates back to 2013 and was dedicated to his colleague and friend Federico Fellini, known at the times of the Marc’Aurelio and whom he has always considered an inspiration.

His daughters, Paola and Silvia, produced a documentary about their father, Ridendo and Scherzando, a beautiful memento to his art, but also to Scola as a father and a person. Nominated for five Academy Awards, his famous 1980 movie La Terrazza (starring Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman, Stefania Sandrelli, Ombretta Colli and Milena Vukovic), set during a party where a group of disillusioned Italian Communist intellectuals discuss life, has been the inspiration for Sorrentino’s Oscar winning La Grande Bellezza.