Uberto Pasolini Dall’Onda was born on May 1, 1957, in Rome, Italy. He is an Italian film producer, director, and former investment banker. He is well-known for producing the 1997 film “The Full Monty” and for directing and producing the films “Machan” (2008) and “Still Life” (2013).
Pasolini is an Italian count and the nephew of filmmaker Luchino Visconti. He studied at Atlantic College and the London School of Economics. He worked as an investment banker in England for 12 years.
Pasolini wanted to work on the film “The Killing Fields.” Although he was initially rejected by producer David Puttnam, Pasolini flew to the film set in Bangkok on his own. Impressed by Pasolini’s determination, Puttnam gave him a job. Pasolini then worked as a location scout for “The Killing Fields” (1984), “The Frog Prince,” and “The Mission” (1986). He also assisted with translations and took on assistant director duties for these films.
When Puttnam became head of Columbia Pictures, Pasolini moved to Los Angeles and became vice president of production. He oversaw the production of David Mamet’s “Things Change” and Emir Kusturica’s “Time of the Gypsies” in 1988. Later that year, he returned to London to work with Enigma Films as an associate producer on “Meeting Venus” (1991) and as producer on the TV episode “A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia.”
In 1994, Pasolini founded Redwave Films. His first project was “Palookaville,” where he selected David Epstein as the writer and Alan Taylor as the director.
In 1997, Pasolini gained international fame as the producer of “The Full Monty.” He came up with the idea for the film and chose Simon Beaufoy to write the screenplay and Peter Cattaneo to direct. In 2000, he produced “The Closer You Get” and in 2001, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
In 2004, Pasolini was inspired by a real event where 23 Sri Lankan men tricked the German embassy to get visas to attend a handball tournament in Germany. They used this as a cover to emigrate. This story led him to make the film “Machan,” released in 2008, which was well-received and marked his directorial debut.
Pasolini’s next major project was “Bel Ami,” starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Christina Ricci. The film premiered at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012.
In 2013, Pasolini directed his second film, “Still Life,” starring Eddie Marsan and Joanne Froggatt.
In 1995, Pasolini married composer Rachel Portman, with whom he collaborated on several film projects. They had three children and divorced in 2006.