Michele Soavi

Michele Soavi
Soavi in 2011.
Born	3 July 1957 (1957-07-03) (age 54) Milan, Italy
Occupation	Director, Actor
Years active	1978 – present

Michele Soavi, sometimes known as Michael Soavi (born 3 July 1957)^[1] is an Italian filmmaker.

Career

Michele Soavi was born in Milan. As a teenager, Soavi enrolled in creative arts classes and developed into a talented actor. He took acting lessons at Milan's Fersen Studios, but his greatest talent was working behind the camera.^[2] Soavi's directorial career began when he was offered an assistant director job by Marco Modugno after appearing as an extra in Modugno's 1979 film Bambule.^[2] Soavi continued to act in films such as Alien 2 on Earth and Lucio Fulci's City of the Living Dead, and served as an assistant director to Aristide Massacessi (Joe D'Amato), and occasionally appeared in bit parts in some of D'Amato's films. Soavi later came into his own when he started his collaboration with famed Italian horror director Dario Argento, who used him as second assistant director on the film Tenebrae.^[2] Soavi continued to work with Argento for several years; with his first credit as director being the documentary Dario Argento's World of Horror, followed by a pop promo for Bill Wyman.^[2] He directed his first feature film with 1987's Stagefright (aka "Aquarius").^[3] He worked as assistant director to Terry Gilliam on The Adventures of Baron Munchausen in 1988, and followed this with his second feature film as director, 1989's La Chiesa (The Church). His third feature, The Sect (aka "The Devil's Daughter"), followed in 1990.^[2]

Soavi has been credited as almost single-handedly continuing the traditions of Italian horror in the 1990s, directing the acclaimed zombie love story Dellamorte Dellamore (aka Cemetery Man).^[2] The film was based on Tiziano Sclavi's comic book Dylan Dog, and starred Rupert Everett in the lead role.^[1] Soavi retreated from the film industry in the mid 1990s to care for his ailing son, but, in recent years, he has begun working once more in Italian television.^[2]

In 2008, it was announced that Soavi was working on a new feature film, The Catacombs Club.

Filmography

Soavi in 1994.

As Director

• Dario Argento's World of Horror (1985)
• Stage Fright (1987)
• The Church (1989)
• The Sect (also known as The Devil's Daughter) (1991)
• Cemetery Man (1994)
• The Goodbye Kiss (2006)
• Blood of the Losers (2008)

As Assistant Director / Second Unit Director

• 2020 Texas Gladiators (1982)
• Tenebrae (1982)
• A Blade in the Dark (1983)
• Endgame (1983)
• Blastfighter (1984)
• Phenomena (1984 - also actor)
• Demons (1985)
• Opera (1987)
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
• The Brothers Grimm (2005)

As Actor Only

Soavi makes cameos in all the films he directed and assistant directed prior to 2000. He has also acted, usually uncredited, in numerous films from other Italian horror directors.

• The Biggest Battle (1978)
• Little Lips (1978)
• Alien 2 (1980)
• City of the Living Dead (also known as The Gates Of Hell) (1980)
• Day of the Cobra (1980)
• Zombie 6: Monster Hunter (also known as Absurd) (1981)
• Caligula II: The Untold Story (1982)
• The New York Ripper (1982)
• Atlantis Inferno (1983)
• Dèmoni (1985)
• Demons 6 (1989)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Baldassarre, Angela (1999) "The Great Dictators: Interviews with Filmmakers of Italian Descent", Guernica Editions, ISBN 155071094X
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Buchanan, Jason "Allmovie Biography", allmovie.com, Macrovision Corporation
3. ^ Pyke, Jim "The Films of Michele Soavi"

External links

• Michele Soavi at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Soavi, Michele
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 3, 1957
Place of birth	Milan
Date of death
Place of death