Ferzan Özpetek

Ferzan Özpetek (, ; born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy since the 1970s.

Biography Ferzan Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. In 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza University of Rome. He completed his education attending art history and costume design classes at the Navona Academy. He also attended director classes at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art.

After receiving stage experience with Julian Beck's Living Theatre, he moved to the cinema landscape, by working as a director assistant to Massimo Troisi, Maurizio Ponzi, Ricky Tognazzi, Sergio Citti and Francesco Nuti. His first work was as Troisi's assistant director for Scusate il ritardo, followed by Ponzi's Sono contento, where he had a small role performing as a madonnaro.

Facing Windows (La finestra di fronte) was released in 2003. It starred Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Raoul Bova, Filippo Nigro and Massimo Girotti, in what turned out to be his last performance on film. The film won multiple awards including: five David di Donatello, four Ciak d'Oro and three Globo d'oro awards. The film's success in Italy and the rest of Europe, led it to be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics in North America.

Once again pairing up with producers Gianni Romoli and Tilde Corsi, in 2005, Özpetek directed Sacred Heart, which received 12 nominations at the David di Donatello awards, where Barbora Bobuľová won the Best Actress award. The film also won the award for production design.

His next film, Saturn in Opposition, was released in 2007. It featured a very rich cast: Pierfrancesco Favino, Luca Argentero, Isabella Ferrari and Ambra Angiolini, and also Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi with whom he worked earlier, in Le fate ignoranti. The movie won four Ciak d'oro, five Globo d'oro and four Nastro d'Argento awards. Angiolini, in her acting debut, won the David di Donatello award for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

That same year, Özpetek served on the jury at the 64th Venice International Film Festival. He also directed commercial ads, including a spot for the AIRL (the Italian association for cancer research) that featured Isabella Ferrari.

In 2008, Özpetek started a new partnership with Domenico Procacci's company, Fandango. Un Giorno Perfetto, a novel by Melania Gaia Mazzucco, starred Isabella Ferrari and Valerio Mastandrea, and marked the first time Özpetek worked with a story not his own. Presented at the 65th Venice International Film Festival, it grossed 3 million euros at the box-office.

In 2008, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, dedicated a retrospective on him, screening all of his movies. He has been one of the few Italian directors to be given this honour.

In April 2009, he directed a short movie called Nonostante tutto è Pasqua (Despite Everything it's Easter), a segment of the project L'Aquila 2009 - Cinque registi tra le macerie, in which multiple directors took on subjects regarding the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. Özpetek's short was dedicated to Alessandra Cora, an aspiring singer who died in her house's rubble.

His next film Loose Cannons was released in 2010. It was co-written with Ivan Cotroneo and stars Riccardo Scamarcio, Alessandro Preziosi, Nicole Grimaudo and Ennio Fantastichini. It is a comedy concerning the family issues of a household in Lecce. This is one of the few movies Özpetek has set outside Rome, a city very close to his heart. On 22 May 2010 the city of Lecce declared Özpetek honorary citizen.

The movie was presented out of competition at the 70th edition of the Berlinale as well as at the Tribeca Film Festival 2010, getting a special recognition of the jury.

In 2011, he was asked to direct Giuseppe Verdi's "La traviata" at San Carlo Opera House, and performed in December 2012, starring Carmen Giannattasio and Saimir Pirgu. It filmed for TV by Unitel Classica, and Pal DVD release in Italian company CG Entertainment (2015).

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Notes 2022 The Ignorant Angels Co-creator and showrunner; also directed 4 episodes and co-wrote episode: "L'altrove"

Assistant director Il tenente dei carabinieri (1986) Il maestro del terrore (The Prince of Terror- 1988, TV) La Scorta (The Bodyguards, 1993) Anche i commercialisti hanno un'anima (1994) Il Branco (1994)

Novels Rosso Istanbul (2013), Mondadori. . Sei la mia vita (2015), Mondadori. . Come un respiro (2020), Mondadori.

Awards

Only awards won for best direction or best film are included.

Facing Windows: David di Donatello Award Best film Scholars Jury Award Best Direction Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Best Original Story (together with Gianni Romoli) Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Direction Crystal Globe for Ferzan Özpetek Bangkok International Film Festival Best Film Foyle Film Festival Best Feature Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, Audience Award Best Feature Seattle International Film Festival Best film

Hamam (Il bagno turco) Golden Orange (Antalya International Film Festival) Best film Best direction Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon award Best Producer The Ignorant Fairies (Le fate ignoranti) Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival Best Feature New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival Best Feature

2008. Italian Medal of Merit