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Ferzan Özpetek

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Ferzan Özpetek
OMRI[1]
Özpetek in 2020
Born (1959-02-03) 3 February 1959 (age 67)
Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey[2]
Citizenship
  • Turkey
  • Italy
Alma mater
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1990–present
Spouse
Simone Pontesilli
​
(m. 2016)​
[3][4]

Ferzan Özpetek (Turkish: [ˈfæɾzan ˈœspetec], Italian: [ˈfɛrdzan ˈɔtspetek, - ˈøts-]; born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy since the 1970s.

Biography

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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.[5]

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.[5]

His directorial debut was with Hamam, an Italian, Spanish and Turkish co-production. The movie, released in May 1997, was presented at the 50th edition of the Cannes Film Festival 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, 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 Cannes Film Festival, as well as at the London Film Festival and at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2001, Özpetek directed The Ignorant Fairies (Le fate ignoranti), starring Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi, a sweet and easy to watch drama about homosexuality and bonding and friendship of several kinds of outsiders. The movie won numerous awards including three Globo d'oro and four Nastro d'Argento awards.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11]

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

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Film

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Actor Role Notes
1983 Son contento No No No Yes Madonnaro Painter
1997 Hamam Yes Yes No No None Winner – Golden Orange for Best Director at Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival
Winner – Golden Orange for Best Film at Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival
1999 Harem Suare Yes Yes No No
2001 The Ignorant Fairies Yes Yes No No Winner – Nastro d'Argento for Best Script
Winner – Globo d'oro for Best Director
Winner – Sebastiane Award at San Sebastián International Film Festival
Winner – Flaiano Award for Best Director
2003 Facing Windows Yes Yes No No Winner – David di Donatello for Best Film
Winner – Nastro d'Argento for Best Script
Winner – Globo d'oro for Best Film
Winner – Globo d'Oro for Best Screenplay
Winner – Ciak d'oro for Best Film
Winner – Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
2005 Sacred Heart Yes Yes No No Winner – Globo d'oro for Best Director
2007 Saturn in Opposition Yes Yes No No Winner – Nastro d'Argento for Best Screenplay
Winner – Globo d'oro for Best Director
Winner – Globo d'oro for Best Screenplay
Winner – Ciak d'oro for Best Director
2008 A Perfect Day Yes Yes No No
2009 L'Aquila 2009 – Cinque registi tra le macerie Yes No No No Short film
2010 Loose Cannons Yes Yes No No Winner – Nastro d'Argento for Best Comedy Film
Winner – Globo d'oro for Best Director
Winner – Globo d'oro for Best Screenplay
Winner – Jury's Special Award at Tribeca Festival
Winner – Mario Monicelli Award at Bari International Film Festival
Winner – Ciak d'oro for Best Film
Francesco Nuti… e vengo da lontano No No No Yes Himself Documentary
2012 Magnificent Presence Yes Yes No No None Winner – Nastro d'Argento for Best Script
Winner – Ciak d'oro for Best Director
2014 Fasten Your Seatbelts Yes Yes No No
2017 Red Istanbul[12] Yes Yes No No
Naples in Veils[13][14] Yes Yes No No Winner – Flaiano Award for Best Director
2018 Cebimdeki Yabanci No No Yes No
2019 The Goddess of Fortune Yes Yes No No Winner – Ciak d'oro for Best Film
2023 Istanbul Trilogy: Meze Yes Yes No No Short film
Istanbul Trilogy: Music Yes Yes No No
Istanbul Trilogy: Muhabbet Yes Yes No No
Nuovo Olimpo Yes Yes No No Winner – Ciak d'oro for Best Director
2024 Diamonds Yes Yes No Yes Himself Winner – Viewer's Award at David di Donatello
Winner – Nastro d'Argento of the Year at Nastro d'Argento
2025 Siblings No No No Yes Himself Cameo appearance
TBA Nella gioia e nel dolore † Yes Yes Yes No None In production

Television

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

Assistant director

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  • 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

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  • Rosso Istanbul (2013), Mondadori. ISBN 978-88-04-63346-4.
  • Sei la mia vita (2015),[15] Mondadori. ISBN 978-88-04-65301-1.
  • Come un respiro (2020), Mondadori, ISBN 978-88-04-71985-4.

Awards

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

  • 2008. Italian Medal of Merit[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Turkish film director to receive Italian Order of Merit". Yeni Şafak. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Aramızda çok kavga ederiz ama Ferzan'la iyi geçiniriz". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 6 November 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Yönetmen Ferzan Özpetek, 15 yıllık erkek arkadaşıyla evlendi". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 28 September 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Ünlü yönetmen Ferzan Özpetek evlendi". CNN Türk (in Turkish). Doğan News Agency. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Ferzan Ozpetek". Giffoni Film Festival. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  6. ^ Prono, Luca (1 October 2001). "Gay Pride, Italian Style: Ferzan Ozpetek's Le Fate Ignoranti (Ignorant Fairies)". Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Ferzan Özpetek Venedik'te!". Milliyet (in Turkish). 20 July 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Filmmaker in Focus: Ferzan Ozpetek - MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Ferzan Ozpetek". Turkuaz Republic. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Lecce vatandaşlığı verildi". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 23 May 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Tribeca '10 - "Loose Cannons" Director Ferzan Ozpetek Keeps It All About the Family". IndieWire. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  12. ^ "'İstanbul Kırmızısı'nın tarihi netleşti". Milliyet (in Turkish). 19 October 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  13. ^ "'Napoli Velata', guarda il teaser del nuovo film di Ferzan Ozpetek". Rolling Stone (in Italian). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Ozpetek gira il nuovo film, 'Napoli velata'". la Repubblica (in Italian). 12 May 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Ferzan Özpetek evlendi". Milliyet (in Turkish). 27 September 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Turkish film director decorated with a medal of merit by Italy". Today's Zaman. Anadolu Agency. 26 October 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

Other sources

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