Ferzan Özpetek (, ; born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy since 1978.

Biography

Ferzan Özpetek was born in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 1959. In 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

. 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 Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing the Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher ...

's Living Theatre, he moved to the cinema landscape, by working as a director assistant to Massimo Troisi, Maurizio Ponzi, Ricky Tognazzi,

Sergio Citti Sergio Citti (30 May 1933 – 11 October 2005) was an Italian film director and screenwriter, born in Rome. He often worked with Pier Paolo Pasolini but also worked for others such as Ettore Scola. His own films include ''We Free Kings (film) ...

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". His directorial debut was with ''

Hamam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

'', an Italian, Spanish and Turkish co-production. The movie, released in May 1997, was presented at the 50th edition of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in the Quinzaine des Realisateurs session. The movie was presented in other international festivals and was sold for distribution in more than 20 countries around the world. In 1999, he directed ''

Harem Suare ''Harem Suare'' is a 1999 Turkish drama film directed by Ferzan Özpetek. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The old Safiye is telling a young woman the life that she lived during the early ...

'', set in his native land of Turkey, telling the tormented love story between the sultan's favourite, Safiye, and the eunuch Nadir, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the background. The story was written by Özpetek himself in collaboration with Gianni Romoli, who also produced the movie with Tilde Corsi and their R&C Production company. The film was presented in the Un Certain Regard section at the

, as well as at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

and at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. In 2001, Özpetek directed ''

The Ignorant Fairies ''The Ignorant Fairies'' (; released on DVD in the US as ''His Secret Life'') is a 2001 Italian drama film directed by Turkish-Italian film director Ferzan Özpetek. The story follows a woman who discovers that her recently deceased husband ha ...

'' (''Le fate ignoranti''), starring Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi, a sweet and easy to watch drama about

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and bonding and friendship of several kinds of outsiders. The movie won numerous awards including three Globo d'oro and four

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

awards. ''

Facing Windows ''Facing Windows'' ( Italian: ''La finestra di fronte'') is a 2003 Italian romantic drama film directed by Ferzan Özpetek. Plot Giovanna ( Giovanna Mezzogiorno) and her husband Filippo ( Filippo Nigro) have settled into life. They both have jo ...

'' (''La finestra di fronte'') was released in 2003. It starred Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Raoul Bova, Filippo Nigro and

Massimo Girotti Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades. Biography Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While ...

, in what turned out to be his last performance on film. The film won multiple awards including: five

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cin ...

, 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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Once again pairing up with producers Gianni Romoli and Tilde Corsi, in 2005, Özpetek directed ''

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

'', which received 12 nominations at the

awards, where

Barbora Bobuľová Barbora Bobuľová (born 29 April 1974) is a Slovak-born Italian actress. She has lived and worked mainly in Italy since 1995. Life and work Born in Martin, Bobuľová trained at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava before moving to ...

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 Ambra Angiolini (born 22 April 1977) is an Italian actress and singer. She made her film debut in Ferzan Özpetek's '' Saturn in Opposition'' (2007) for which she won the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Nastro ...

, 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

awards. Angiolini, in her acting debut, won the

award for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role. That same year, Özpetek served on the jury at the 64th

Venice International Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. 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

, it grossed 3 million euros at the box-office. In 2008, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 An earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy, at 03:32 Central European Time#Central European Summer Time, CEST (01:32 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC) on 6 April 2009. It was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on ...

. 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 Alessandro Preziosi (born 19 April 1973) is an Italian actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of th ...

, Nicole Grimaudo and Ennio Fantastichini. It is a comedy concerning the family issues of a household in

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

. This is one of the few movies Özpetek has set outside

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, a city very close to his heart. On 22 May 2010 the city of

declared Özpetek honorary citizen. The movie was presented out of competition at the 70th edition of the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

as well as at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

2010, getting a special recognition of the jury. In 2011, he was asked to direct

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

's " La traviata" at San Carlo Opera House, and performed in December 2012, starring

Carmen Giannattasio Carmen Giannattasio (born 24 April 1975 in Avellino) is an Italian operatic soprano. She studied at the Conservatoire Domenico Cimarosa of Avellino and simultaneously at the University of Salerno (degree in Russian and English Literatures). From 1 ...

and Saimir Pirgu. It filmed for TV by Unitel Classica, and Pal DVD release in Italian company CG Entertainment (2015).

Filmography

Producer

*''Cebimdeki Yabancı'' (2018)

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 Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...

. . * Sei la mia vita (2015),

. . * Come un respiro (2020),

, .

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

References

Other sources

* Biyografi.net
''Biography of Ferzan Özpetek''
* Biyografi.info - ''Biographies''
''Ferzan Özpetek''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Özpetek, Ferzan 1959 births Best Director Golden Orange Award winners David di Donatello winners Italian film directors Italian male screenwriters Turkish emigrants to Italy Italian LGBTQ screenwriters Turkish LGBTQ screenwriters Italian LGBTQ film directors Italian gay writers Turkish gay writers Living people Film people from Istanbul Turkish film directors Turkish male screenwriters Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni Gay screenwriters