Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: Shoeshine and Bicycle Thieves were awarded honorary Oscars, while Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Indeed, the great critical success of Shoeshine (the first foreign film to be so recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Bicycle Thieves helped establish the permanent Best Foreign Film Oscar. These two films generally are considered part of the canon of classic cinema. Bicycle Thieves was cited by Turner Classic Movies as one of the 15 most influential films in cinema history.