**Ermanno Olmi (1931-2018)**, an eminent Italian director and screenwriter, was a key figure in art-house cinema. His career was characterized by profound realism and humanism. After starting in documentary filmmaking, he brought stories of everyday life and simple characters to the big screen with extraordinary poetry.

Among his most significant films, "Il posto" (The Job) (1961) explored the monotony of bureaucracy through the eyes of a young man. "L'albero degli zoccoli" (The Tree of Wooden Clogs) (1978), which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, is considered his masterpiece, a detailed fresco of late 19th-century Lombard peasant life. Other important works include "La leggenda del santo bevitore" (The Legend of the Holy Drinker) (1988), which won the Golden Lion at Venice, and "Centochiodi" (One Hundred Nails) (2007).

His style is distinguished by the frequent use of non-professional actors, the search for human truth, and a strong sensitivity to nature and the spiritual dimension of existence. Olmi was able to elevate the ordinary to the universal, leaving a legacy of intimate and reflective cinema.