Ferzan Özpetek (b. February 3, 1959, Turkey) is a Turkish screenwriter and film director who currently resides in Italy.
Biography
Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. He moved to Italy in 1977 to study at the La Sapienza University in Rome. Later he attended directing courses at the Accademia d’Arte Drammatica "Silvio D’Amico" in Rome before working as an assistant director with Massimo Troisi, Maurizio Ponzi, and other Italian directors. Özpetek made his directorial debut in 1997 with Hamam (also released as Il bagno Turco and Steam: The Turkish Bath). The movie garnered considerable critical success and was later released in USA. His second film Harem Suare was a lyrical depiction of the last days of Ottoman Empire.
Ferzan Özpetek is an openly gay director[1][2] who deals with sexuality issues in several of his films. Such as Le Fate Ignoranti (Cahil Periler in Turkish), a story of a woman (played by Margherita Buy) who discovered that her late husband had a long-lasting relationship with a male lover (starring Stefano Accorsi). After being devastated, she began to build a friendly relationship with him, learning more about her husband and the secret life he used to spend, in that gay world she couldn't imagine at all. His La Finestra di fronte (Karşı Pencere in Turkish) won a Crystal Globe award in Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Senior Italian actor Massimo Girotti played his last role in this film. Another movie is Cuore Sacro, the touching portrait of a young manager that discovers the way to reach the hidden space in her soul through her dead mother, and starts dedicating herself in looking after socially rejected people. His feature film Saturno contro was released in Italy in February 2007 and will have its U.S. premiere on 20 June 2008 at the San Francisco Frameline film festival.
Filmography
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)
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Director
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Awards
Only awards won for best direction or best film are included.
- Facing Windows:[3]
- David di Donatello Award
- Scholars Jury Award
- 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
- Foyle Film Festival
- Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, Audience Award
- Seattle International Film Festival
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- Hamam (Il bagno turco) [4]
- Golden Orange (Antalya International Film Festival)
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon award
- The Ignorant Fairies (Le fate ignoranti) [5]
- Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival
- New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
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- 2008. Italian Medal of Merit.[6]
References
- ^ Giltz, Michael (October 1, 2002), "Young Turk in old Rome", The Advocate, http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Young+Turk+in+old+Rome:+the+Turkish+director+of+the+popular...-a092084108, retrieved 2007-11-02
- ^ Reha ERUS (2001-03-16). "Saklamıyorum ben eşcinselim (I don't hide it, I'm gay)" (in tr). Hürriyet Newspaper Online. http://webarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/2001/03/16/313499.asp. (Turkish)
- ^ IMDb - Awards for Finestra di fronte, La
- ^ IMDb - Awards for Hamam
- ^ IMDb - Awards for Fate ignoranti, Le
- ^ "Turkish film director decorated with a medal of merit by Italy". Today's Zaman. Anadolu Agency. 2008-10-26. http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=156965. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
External links
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