Pupi Avati

Pupi Giuseppe Avati was born in Bologna in 1938 After attending school and studying Political Science at the University of Florence he started working at a frozen food company At the same time he developed a passion for jazz becoming a proficient clarinetist In the second half of the 1950s he formed and played in the Doctor Dixie Jazz Band of which Lucio Dalla was also a member3 Although he initially intended to be a professional musician Avati felt he lacked the necessary talent In the mid1960s he decided to dedicate himself to cinema after seeing Federico Fellinis 8½ and its portrait of the role of a director4 Avatis passion for music as well as his love for his hometown which was the setting of many of his films were to become recurrent themes found in his productions