Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
between 2003 and 2007.
He won the
Academy Award for Best Director
The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...
for ''
The English Patient
''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...
'' (1996). In addition, he received three more
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations; he was nominated for
Best Adapted Screenplay for both ''The English Patient'' and ''
The Talented Mr. Ripley
''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. This novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen, including ''Purpl ...
'' (1999), and was posthumously nominated for
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
for ''
The Reader
''The Reader'' (german: Der Vorleser) is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in Germany in 1995 and in the United States in 1997. The story is a parable, dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations ...
'' (2008), as a producer.
Early life
Minghella was born in
Ryde
Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...
, on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, an island off the south coast of England that is a popular holiday resort. His family are well known on the Island, where they ran a café in Ryde until the 1980s and have run an eponymous business making and selling
Italian-style ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...
since the 1950s. His parents were Edoardo Minghella (an Italian immigrant) and Leeds-born Gloria Alberta (née Arcari). His mother's ancestors originally came from
Valvori
Valvori is a small village that is a part of Vallerotonda, a town and comune (municipality) in southern Lazio in Italy. The village, which is located in the Apennine Mountains, is 3 km away from the town of Vallerotonda and forms part of th ...
, a small village in southern
Lazio
it, Laziale
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, Italy.
[Minghella, Anthony]
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''
. He was one of five children, his sisters Gioia Minghella-Giddens, Edana Minghella and
Loretta Minghella, and a brother
Dominic Minghella
Dominic Minghella (born 1966) is a British television producer and screenwriter. His most successful project has been the creation of the ITV network comedy-drama series ''Doc Martin'', starring Martin Clunes, which began in 2004. The main chara ...
who would also become a screenwriter and producer.
Minghella attended St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ryde, Sandown Grammar School, and
St John's College, Portsmouth
St John's College was a former independent day and boarding school located in Southsea, Hampshire, England. On 16 May 2022, the Governors of St John's College announced that the school would not re-open in September 2022 due to declining stude ...
. Early interests suggested a possible career as a musician, with Minghella playing keyboards with local bands Earthlight and Dancer. The latter recorded an album titled ''Tales of the Riverbank'' in 1972, although it was not released until 2001.
He attended the
University of Hull
The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...
, studying drama. As an undergraduate he had arrived at university with an EMI contract for the band, in which he sang and played keyboards; while at university he wrote words and music for an adaptation of
Gabriel Josipovici
Gabriel David Josipovici ( ; born 8 October 1940) is a British novelist, short story writer, critic, literary theorist, and playwright. He is an Emeritus professor, after having been Professor at the University of Sussex.
Biography
He was born ...
's ''Mobius the Stripper'' (1975) .
[ Parry, David. Anthony Minghella, 1954–2008. '']Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
'', May 2008, p505-6.
Minghella graduated after three years and stayed on to pursue a PhD. He also taught at the university for several years, on
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
and on the
medieval theatre
Medieval theatre encompasses theatrical performance in the period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century and the beginning of the Renaissance in approximately the 15th century. The category of "medieval theatre" is vast, c ...
. Ultimately, he abandoned his pursuit of a PhD to work for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Minghella's debut work was a stage adaptation of Gabriel Josipovici's ''Mobius the Stripper'' (1975) and it was his ''Whale Music'' (1985) that brought him notice. His double bill of
's ''Play'' and ''Happy Days'' was his directorial debut and debut feature film as a director was ''
'' (1978). During the 1980s, he worked in television, starting as a
...