Elio Marcuzzo (Treviso, July 21, 1917 – Rome, July 28, 1945) was an Italian director, screenwriter, and actor. Trained at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, he became a close and key collaborator of Roberto Rossellini, establishing himself as one of the most promising figures in the cinema of his time. He contributed decisively to the screenplays and direction of pivotal works of Neorealism, including *Un pilota ritorna* (1942), *L'uomo dalla croce* (1943), and, above all, the masterpiece *Roma città aperta* (1945), for which he played a crucial role as assistant director and co-screenwriter. He also directed the documentary *Gente dell'aria* (1943). His brilliant career was tragically cut short at the age of just twenty-eight. For his exceptional contribution to Italian cinema, in 1946 he was posthumously awarded a Special Nastro d'Argento in recognition of his talent and his essential work for the birth of Neorealism.