Pier Paolo Pasolini (Italian: [ˈpjɛr ˈpaːolo pazoˈliːni]; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italy, influential both as an artist and a political figure. Pasolini's unsolved murder at Ostia in November 1975 during an altercation with a young male prostitute prompted an outcry in Italy, and its circumstances continue to be a matter of heated debate.