Antonio Leonviola

Biography

Antonio Leonviola, born Antonio Leone Viola, was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He began his career in 1934, winning a gold medal at the Venice Film Festival for his silent film Fiera di tipi, which he shot at a fair in Padua. During World War II, he worked as a war photographer, an experience that influenced his short films such as La battaglia dell'Amba Alagi and La marcia degli eroi. After the war, Leonviola directed several films, including Rita da Cascia (1942) and The Temptress (1951). In the 1960s, he directed mythological peplum films like Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops (1961) and Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961). In 1983, he co-founded the "Libera Università del Cinema di Roma" for actors and directors in San Cesareo.