Luchino Visconti (1906-1976), the film and theatre director and screenwriter was adored while alive and turned into a cult figure after his death. He is considered as one of the most influential figures in world cinema. After starting as assistant to Jean Renoir, his directorial debut came in 1942 with Obsession, followed by La terra trema, held to be of a masterpiece of Neorealism. Senso, presented at the Venice Film Festival in 1954 amidst considerable controversy, marked the change to a style reminiscent of melodrama, like Rocco and His Brothers. With The Leopard, his best-known film, Visconti enjoyed tremendous success with audiences and won the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1963. He would go on to direct the so-called “German trilogy”, comprising The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971) and Ludwig (1973). His final films were Conversation Piece and L’innocente (1976), presented posthumously at Cannes.