Never one to hold back when depicting the truth, Pier Paolo Pasolini, nearly 50 years after his death, remains a defiant and relevant artist whose films embrace human dignity, condemn authoritarianism and contain vividly depicted sexuality. Worldwide tributes marking the 100th anniversary of Pasolini’s birth include a program in San Francisco where Pasolini admirers and neophytes alike can see a few of the postwar filmmaker’s once “scandalous” works.

The all-day celebration, “Pasolini 100: An Homage to Pier Paolo Pasolini,” is set for Saturday at the Castro Theatre. Five films and a reception make up the very Italian bill. “I’m excited about this event,” says Amelia Antonucci, founder and program director of Cinema Italia San Francisco, one of the organizations presenting “Pasolini 100.”