Director Vittorio De Sica was an Italian film director and actor who is widely considered to be one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is best known for his neorealist films, which often depicted the struggles of the working class. He won numerous awards, including four Academy Awards, and is remembered for classics such as Bicycle Thieves and Umberto D. De Sica's career spanned from the 1930s to the 1970s, and he was also a prolific screenwriter and actor. He was a founding member of the Italian film movement known as the 'School of Rome' and was a major influence on the French New Wave.