Paolo Sorrentino

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Paolo Sorrentino
Sorrentino at the 2018 Venice Film Festival
Born	(1970-05-31) 31 May 1970 (age 51) Naples, Italy
Alma mater	University of Naples Federico II
Occupation	Film director screenwriter
Years active	1994–present
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)

Paolo Sorrentino (Italian: [ˈpaːolo sorrenˈtiːno]; born 31 May 1970)^[1] is an Italian film director, screenwriter and writer. His 2013 film La Grande Bellezza won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe and the Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film.^[2] In Italy he was honored with five David di Donatello and six Nastro d'Argento.

Sorrentino's direction and screenplays, including Il divo, The Consequences of Love, The Family Friend, This Must Be the Place and the 2016 TV series The Young Pope, have received three Cannes Lions, three Venice Film Festival Awards and four European Film Awards.

He works with authors and producers including Francesca Cima and Nicola Giuliano, Toni Servillo and Luca Bigazzi. Actors in his films have included Sabrina Ferilli, Fanny Ardant, Isabella Ferrari, Elena Sofia Ricci, Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Riccardo Scamarcio, Jude Law, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Nanni Moretti, Carlo Verdone, Antonio Albanese and Frank Langella.

He has also worked with songwriters Antonello Venditti, Paloma Faith and Mark Kozelek and written three books published in Italian.

Life and career[]

Sorrentino was born in Naples, in the district of Arenella in 1970 and became an orphan when he lost both of his parents at the age of 16. His first film as a screenwriter, The Dust of Naples, was released in 1998. He also began directing short movies, including L'amore non ha confini in 1998 and La notte lunga in 2001. His feature-length debut was One Man Up (L'uomo in più), for which he was awarded the Nastro D'Argento prize.

He achieved international recognition in 2004 for his thriller The Consequences of Love (Le conseguenze dell'amore). The film, which explores the mindset of a lonely businessman being used as a pawn by the Mafia, won many awards and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.^[3]

Sorrentino's next feature, The Family Friend (L'amico di famiglia), was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May^[4] and the London Film Festival in October 2006. It tells the story of a malicious septuagenarian loan shark who develops a fixation with the beautiful daughter of one of his customers.

Sorrentino made his acting debut with a cameo appearance in Nanni Moretti's film The Caiman (Il caimano), which was also shown at the 2006 London Film Festival.

Sorrentino's following film, Il Divo, is a dramatised biopic of Giulio Andreotti, the controversial Italian politician. The feature, which won the Prix du Jury at Cannes Film Festival, sees Sorrentino reunited with The Consequences of Love star Toni Servillo, who plays the part of Andreotti.

In 2009, Sorrentino wrote the screenplay for a film version of Niccolò Ammaniti's Ti prendo e ti porto via (Steal You Away).^[5]

This Must Be the Place marked the English-language feature debut of the Italian filmmaker. The plot centres on a middle-aged wealthy rock star, played by two-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn, who becomes bored in his retirement and takes on the quest of finding the guard of the German camp where his father was imprisoned, who now lives in hiding in the United States. The film was co-written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello,^[6] and premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.^[7]

His 2013 film The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in the 2014 Academy Awards.^[8] It won the Bafta award for Best Film Not in the English Language in the 67th British Academy Film Awards. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.^[9] The film also received several accolades at the 2013 European Film Awards, including "Best Film" and "Best Director" for Sorrentino.^[10]

Youth (2015) is Sorrentino's second English-language film, and features Michael Caine as a retired orchestra conductor.^[11] It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.^[12]

In 2019, it was announced that Sorrentino would be directing Jennifer Lawrence as mob informant Arlyne Brickman in Mob Girl. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Teresa Carpenter.^[13] Sorrentino will also be working as a co-producer on the film with Lawrence, as well as co-writing the screenplay.^[13][14]

Sorrentino is not religious.^[15]

Collaborators[]

Sorrentino likes to work with the same team of filmmakers, often hiring cast and crew from his previous films. Regular members of the 'team' include:

Collaborators	One Man Up	The Consequences of Love	The Family Friend	Il Divo	This Must Be the Place	The Great Beauty	Youth	The Young Pope	Loro	The New Pope	The Hand of God
(Producer)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y
(Producer)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y
Toni Servillo (Actor)	Y	Y		Y		Y			Y		Y
(Co-writer)					Y	Y		Y	Y	Y
Luca Bigazzi (Cinematographer)		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Lele Marchitelli (Composer)						Y		Y	Y	Y	Y
(Editor)	Y	Y	Y
(Editor)				Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Emanuele Cecere (Sound)		Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y
(Sound)	Y	Y	Y
(Production designer)	Y	Y	Y	Y
Carlo Poggioli (Costume designer)							Y	Y	Y	Y
(Casting director)			Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

Filmography[]

Feature films[]

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Role	Notes
1998	The Dust of Naples		Yes
2001	One Man Up	Yes	Yes
2004	The Consequences of Love	Yes	Yes
2006	The Family Friend	Yes	Yes
2006	The Caiman			Aida's Husband
2008	Il Divo	Yes	Yes
2009	A Question of the Heart			Alberto's Friend
2011	This Must Be The Place	Yes	Yes
2013	The Great Beauty	Yes	Yes
2014	Rio, I Love You	Yes	Yes		Segment: La Fortuna
2015	Youth	Yes	Yes
2018	Loro	Yes	Yes
2021	The Hand of God	Yes	Yes

Short films and documentaries[]

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
1994	[it]	Yes	Yes	Short film
1998	[it]	Yes	Yes	Short film
2001	La notte lunga	Yes	Yes	Short film
2002	La primavera del 2002. L'Italia protesta, l'Italia si ferma	Yes		Documentary
2004	Giovani talenti italiani	Yes		Documentary Segment: Quando le cose vanno male
2009	[it]	Yes	Yes	Short film
2009	L'Aquila 2009. Cinque registi tra le macerie	Yes		Documentary Segment: L'assegnazione delle tende
2010	[it]	Yes	Yes	Documentary Segment: La principessa di Napoli
2011	In the Mirror	Yes	Yes	Commercial for Yamamay
2014	Sabbia	Yes		Commercial for Armani
2014	The Dream	Yes	Yes	Commercial for Bulgari
2017	Killer in Red	Yes	Yes	Commercial for Campari

Television[]

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Role	Notes
2000	La squadra		Yes		2 episodes
2004	Sabato, domenica e lunedì	Yes			Television film
2010	Boris			Himself	Episode: "Nella rete"
2014	Le voci di dentro	Yes			Television film
2016	The Young Pope	Yes	Yes		10 episodes; Also creator
2019	The New Pope	Yes	Yes		9 episodes; Also creator

Works[]

Novels[]

• Everybody's Right (Italian: Hanno tutti ragione, Europa Editions, 2011)
• Gli aspetti irrilevanti (Mondadori, 2016)

Short stories[]

• Tony Pagoda e i suoi amici (Feltrinelli, 2012)

Awards and Nominations[]

List of Accolades
Award / Film Festival	Year	Work	Nomination	Result
Academy Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Language Film	Won
Amanda Awards	2014[16]	The Great Beauty	Best Film - International	Won
ASECAN Awards	2017[17]	Youth	Best Foreign Film	Nominated
Association of Polish Filmmakers Critics Awards	2014[18]	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Film	Won
	2015[19]	Youth		Won
British Academy Film Awards	2014[20]	The Great Beauty	Best Film not in the English Language	Won
Bellaria Film Festival	2002[21]	One Man Up	Best Film	Won
			Best Technical Contribution	Won
Bangkok International Film Festival	2006[22]	The Consequences of Love	Best Film	Nominated
Bodil Awards	2010	Il Divo	Best Non-American Film	Nominated
	2014	The Great Beauty		Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	2013	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Language Film	Won
British Independent Film Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Independent Film	Nominated
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema	2002	One Man Up	Best Film	Nominated
			Youth Jury Award	Won
Cannes Film Festival	2004	The Consequences of Love	Palme d'Or	Nominated
	2006	The Family Friend		Nominated
	2008	Il Divo		Nominated
			Jury Prize	Won
	2011	This Must Be the Place	Palme d'Or	Nominated
			Prize of the Ecumenical Jury	Won
	2013	The Great Beauty	Palme d'Or	Nominated
	2015	Youth		Nominated
César Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Language Film	Nominated
	2016	Youth		Nominated
Chicago International Film Festival	2006	The Family Friend	Best Feature	Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	2013	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign-Language Film	Nominated
Cinema Brazil Grand Prize	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign-Language Film	Nominated
Cinemanila International Film Festival	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign-Language Film	Won
Critics' Choice Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Language Film	Nominated
Cinemanila International Film Festival	2013	The Great Beauty	Lino Brocka Award for Best Film	Won
David di Donatello	2002	One Man Up	Best New Director	Nominated
			Best Screenplay	Nominated
	2005	The Consequences of Love	Best Director	Won
			Best Screenplay	Won
			Best Film	Won
	2009	Il Divo	Best Director	Nominated
			Best Screenplay	Nominated
			Best Film	Nominated
	2012	This Must Be the Place	Best Director	Nominated
			Best Screenplay	Won
			Best Film	Nominated
	2014	The Great Beauty	David of the Youth	Nominated
			Best Director	Won
			Best Screenplay	Nominated
			Best Film	Nominated
	2016	Youth	Best Director	Nominated
			Best Screenplay	Nominated
			Best Film	Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society	2015	Youth	Best Director	Nominated
			Best Film	Nominated
Dresden Film Festival	2010	La Partita Lenta	Best Short Fiction Film - International	Nominated
European Film Awards	2005	The Consequences of Love	Best Director	Nominated
	2008	Il Divo		Nominated
			Best Screenwriter	Nominated
	2013	The Great Beauty	Best Film	Won
			Best Director	Won
			Best Screenwriter	Nominated
	2015	Youth	Best Film	Won
			Best Director	Won
			Best Screenwriter	Nominated
FICE Awards	2005	The Consequences of Love	Best Italian Film	Won
	2012	This Must Be the Place		Won
			Best Foreign Language Film	Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	2013	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Language Film	Nominated
Gold Derby Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Language Film	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Foreign Language Film	Won
Goya Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best European Film	Nominated
Gotham Awards	2019	L'amica geniale	Breakthrough Series - Longform	Nominated
Hollywood Film Awards	2013	The Great Beauty	Best International Film	Won
			Best Independent Film	Won
			Best New Screenplay	Won
Independent Spirit Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Film	Nominated
International Cinephile Society Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Film	Nominated
			Best Foreign Film	Nominated
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival	2015	Youth	Audience Award	Won
Kineo Awards	2017	This Must Be the Place	Best Film	Nominated
L'Association des Critiques de Séries	2017	The Young Pope	Best Direction	Nominated
London Critics Circle Film Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Director of the Year	Nominated
			Best Foreign Language Film	Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association	2013	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Film	Nominated
Munich International Film Festival	2013	The Great Beauty	Best International Film	Nominated
Nastro d'Argento	2002	One Man Up	Best New Director	Won
			Best Screenplay	Nominated
	2005	The Consequences of Love	Best Director	Nominated
			Best Original Story	Nominated
	2007	The Family Friend		Nominated
	2009	Il Divo	Best Director	Won
			Best Screenplay	Won
	2012	This Must Be the Place	Best Director	Won
			Best Screenplay	Nominated
	2013	The Great Beauty	Best Director	Nominated
			Best Screenplay	Nominated
	2015	Youth	Best Director	Won
			Best Script	Nominated
	2018	Loro	Best Film	Nominated
			Best Screenplay	Won
Ostend Film Festival	2015	Youth	Look Prize	Nominated
Polish Film Awards	2015	The Great Beauty	Best European Film	Nominated
	2016	Youth		Won
Prêmio Guarani	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Film	Won
Raindance Film Festival	2009	La Partita Lenta	Film of the Festival	Won
Robert Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Non-American Film	Nominated
	2017	Youth		Nominated
Salerno Shadowline Film Festival	2014	One Man Up	Best Film	Won
Sant Jordi Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Film	Won
Satellite Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Film	Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign-Language Film	Nominated
Seville European Film Festival	2008	Il Divo	Eurimages Award	Won
	2013	The Great Beauty	Best Co-Production	Won
			Asecan Award (Special Mention)	Won
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival	2006	The Family Friend	Grand Prize	Nominated
	2008	Il Divo		Nominated
	2013	The Great Beauty		Won
Torino Film Festival	1998	L'amore non ha confini	Best Italian Fiction Film	Nominated
	2001	Himself	Giuseppe De Santis Award	Won
Tribeca Film Festival	2002	One Man Up	Best Narrative Feature	Nominated
Turia Awards	2014	The Great Beauty	Best Foreign Film	Won
Venice Film Festival	2008	Il Divo	SIAE Award	Won
	2016	The Young Pope		Won
			Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award	Won

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paolo Sorrentino.

• Paolo Sorrentino at IMDb
• Paolo Sorrentino at the TCM Movie Database