Vittorio De Seta is an Italian cinema director and screenwriter, considered one of the Italian cinema's great imaginative realists of the Sixties. He was born in Palermo, Sicily, to a wealthy family, and studied architecture in Rome, before deciding to become a director.

De Seta made ten short documentaries between 1954 and 1959, before directing his first feature-length film, Banditi a Orgosolo (Bandits of Orgosolo).

His early documentaries focus on the everyday life of many of Sicily's poorest workers, and are notable for their lack of voice-over narration, quiet mood, and striking color.

In 2005 the rediscovery of Vittorio De Seta was a highlight of Tribeca Film Festival and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, where was presented Détour De Seta, a documentary on the Italian director.