Julio Saraceni

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Julio Saraceni (October 10, 1912 – October 12, 1998) was a prominent Argentine film director who helped shape the classic era of Argentine cinema. He started as an aviator, but later found his true calling in filmmaking. His directing career began in 1937 with a short film, Fórmula secreta, where he used his flying experience in many scenes. That same year he directed his first feature, Noches de carnaval, a comedy.

He married Argentina Mori, a crew member, and together they made about 60 films from 1938 to 1986. Their work includes María Celeste (1944), Alma de bohemio (1949), La barra de la esquina (1950), and La mejor del colegio (1953). Saraceni was best known for comedies and worked with many famous Argentine stars such as Florencio Parravicini, Fidel Pintos, Niní Marshall, José Marrone, Carlos Balá, Lolita Torres, and Pepe Biondi.

In 1972 he directed Sandro’s El deseo de vivir, and in 1986 he directed one of the Superagentes films, which was his last movie. After that, he focused on documentaries and television, working a lot for Channel 9 and Telefé. He had a stroke in 1988 and became paralyzed on one side of his body in later years. He lived near the AMIA bombing site in 1994 and survived. He relied on a pension from the Argentine Institute of Cinematography, lost his wife in 1996, and died in 1998 at age 86.