From October 28 to November 1 Florence hosts the eighteenth edition of France Odeon, the Festival of French Cinema, and on Thursday, October 29, a special gathering is dedicated, in the Sala Collezioni of Palazzo Bastogi, to the memory of Aldo Tassone, renowned film critic, writer and founder of France Cinéma, the festival born in 1986 that made Florence an international reference point for French cinema and from whose legacy France Odeon emerged. Many friends, colleagues and witnesses of his extraordinary personal and professional journey will remember him, among them Nicole Garcia, Philippe Le Guay, Pascal Rogard, Jacques Pieri, Carlos Gomez, Cristina Jandelli, Marco Luceri, Beatrice Manetti, Elena Mazzocchi, Gabriele Rizza, Riccardo Zucconi and Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, artistic director of France Odeon. A collective gathering, made of personal testimonies, anecdotes and reflections, to reconstruct the portrait of an intellectual who transformed his passion for cinema into an experience of encounter, knowledge and friendship among artists, critics and spectators.
Aldo Tassone’s Lesson
Personal friend of Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Akira Kurosawa, Alain Resnais and many other great masters, a regular attendee of the Cannes Film Festival and for many years the Republica’s go‑to columnist on French cinema, Tassone stood at the center of some of the most significant moments in the history of contemporary cinema. Author of numerous essays and tireless organizer of conferences, gatherings and retrospectives, in 1986 he founded France Cinéma in Florence, destined to become the most important festival dedicated to French cinema outside France. Under his leadership, the festival was not merely a showcase of films and auteurs, but a genuine laboratory for critical and cultural deepening. The catalogs of the retrospectives he curated, from the Nouvelle Vague to Louis Malle, up to the history of Franco-Italian coproductions, are today regarded as valuable tools for study and documentation. Among his most important works is also “Fellini 23 ½,” a monumental volume of over a thousand pages published in 2020 by the Cineteca di Bologna, the fruit of years of research and devotion to the cinema of the Rimini master cultivated over a lifetime. The bond between Tassone and France Odeon goes back to 2008, when, at the conclusion of the France Cinéma experience, Francesco Ranieri Martinotti took up the baton and gave life to a new festival, with a different identity but in the spirit of cultural continuity. A transition initially delicate, which soon became a deep friendship, founded on mutual esteem and a shared love for cinema. “When I took up the France Cinéma baton, I knew that I could not imagine a new festival in Florence without recognizing Aldo’s fundamental role,” recalls Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, artistic director of France Odeon. “I wanted him, together with Françoise, to be the first protagonist of the new venture. From that moment an authentic friendship arose. Aldo transmitted to me his knowledge of French cinema, opened the doors to a world of extraordinary authors and artists, and taught me how much human relationships matter in our work. He was a generous mentor, capable of uniting a vast culture with a curiosity and a freshness that have never faded.” The tribute takes on a particularly intense meaning in the year when France Odeon celebrates its eighteenth edition and Florence marks forty-one years of French cinema, a path begun precisely in 1986 thanks to the vision and commitment of Aldo Tassone. An occasion to celebrate not only his extraordinary critical expertise, but also his ability to forge relationships, discover talents and bring different cultures closer together, leaving a legacy that continues to live in the festival and in the memory of those who knew him. The gathering is open to the public, with free admission.
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