Marco Bellocchio
Born: 1939-11-09 in Bobbio, Piacenza, Italy
Known For: Directing
Biography
Marco Bellocchio (Italian: [ˈmarko belˈlɔkkjo]; born 9 November 1939; Bobbio) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolteacher. He began studying philosophy in Milan but then decided to enter film school, making his first film, Fists in the Pocket, (I pugni in tasca, winner of the Silver Sail at the 1965 Festival del film Locarno), funded by family members and shot on family property, in 1965. Bellocchio's films include China Is Near (1967), Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina (Slap the Monster on Page One) (1972), Nel Nome del Padre (In the name of the Father – a satire on a Catholic boarding school that shares affinities with Lindsay Anderson's If....) (1972), Victory March (1976), A Leap in the Dark (1980), Henry IV (1984), Devil in the Flesh (1986), and My Mother's Smile (2002), which told the story of a wealthy Italian artist, a 'default-Marxist and atheist', who suddenly discovers that the Vatican is proposing to make his detested mother a saint. In 1991 he won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival for his film The Conviction. In 1995 he directed a documentary about the Red Brigades and the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro, titled Broken Dreams. In 2003, he directed a feature film on the same theme, Good Morning, Night. In 2006 his film The Wedding Director was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. In 1999, he was awarded with an Honorable Prize for the contribution to cinema at the 21st Moscow International Film Festival. In 2009 he directed Vincere, which was in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. He finished Sorelle Mai, an experimental film that was shot over ten years with the students of six separate workshops playing themselves. He was awarded with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in September 2011. His 2012 film Dormant Beauty was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.[6] On 6 September 2012, Bellocchio condemned the Catholic Church's interference in politics after the premiere of his controversial film about a high-profile euthanasia case. The film approaches the topic of euthanasia and the difficulty with legislation on end of life in Italy, which has Vatican City within its borders. The subject is inspired by Eluana Englaro's case. Following the decision of the jury of the Venice Film Festival, which excluded the film from the Golden Lion, Bellocchio has expressed strong criticism against President Michael Mann.
Filmography
2026
- Portobello ... (Director)
- Rosebush Pruning ... (Original Film Writer)
2025
2024
- Battlefield ... (Producer)
- Volonté: The Man of a Thousand Faces as Self
- The Time It Takes ... (Producer)
- If I May - Chapter II ... (Director)
- The Life Apart ... (Screenplay)
2022
- Ennio as Self
- Exterior Night ... (Story)
- Esterno Notte (part I) ... (Story)
- Behind the Scenes: The Traitor as Himself
- Esterno Notte (part II) ... (Screenplay)
- Lo Spazio Inquieto
2021
- Marx Can Wait as Self
- Opera Prima as Self
- If I May ... (Director)
- Journey into the Twilight as Self
2020
- Glauber, Claro as Self
2019
- The Traitor ... (Director)
- Colpiti al cuore as Self
2018
- 1968 - The Global Revolt as Self
- The Fight ... (Writer)
2017
- Marcians as Self
- All for a Rose ... (Director)
2016
- Sweet Dreams ... (Director)
- Clowns ... (Director)
- La mia casa e i miei coinquilini - Il lungo viaggio di Joyce Lussu
2015
- Blood of My Blood ... (Director)
- Filmstudio, mon amour as Sé stesso
2012
- Square as Self
- Dormant Beauty ... (Screenplay)
- It Was the Son ... (Thanks)
- Fragments ... (Thanks)
2011
- Sorelle Mai ... (Director)
- Voi siete qui as Self
2009
- Vincere ... (Director)
- Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso
- What Do You Know About Me as Self
2007
- Sorelle ... (Director)
2006
- The Wedding Director ... (Director)
- Marcello, una vita dolce as Self
- Materia e visione ... (Writer)
2005
- Le Cercle as Self
- Filmmakers vs. Tycoons as Self
- Behind Love and Anger as Self - Director (segment "Discutiamo, discutiamo")
- A Need for Change: The Making of 'Fists in the Pocket' as Slef
2004
- I nostri trent'anni - Generazioni a confronto as Self
- Radio West ... (Writer)
2003
- Good Morning, Night ... (Director)
- Cesare Zavattini as Self
- Same rage, same spring as Himself
2002
- My Mother's Smile
- The Spring of 2002 - Italy Protests, Italy Stops ... (Director)
- Today is a Beautiful Day ... (Director)
- Farewell to the Past ... (Director)
- A un millimetro dal cuore
- Notes for a Movie About Uncle Vania ... (Director)
2000
- Fresco ... (Writer)
- Nina ... (Director)
- The Choir Master ... (Director)
- A Thread of Passion ... (Director)
1999
- The Nanny ... (Director)
1998
- Alfabeto italiano ... (Writer)
1997
- The Prince of Homburg ... (Director)
- Elena ... (Director)
1996
- Celebrate Cinema 101 ... (Director)
1995
- Rome, November 12, 1994 ... (Director)
- Broken Dreams: Reasoning and Delirium ... (Writer)
1994
- The Butterfly's Dream ... (Director)
1993
- The Man with the Flower in His Mouth ... (Writer)
1991
- The Conviction ... (Director)
1988
- The Witches' Sabbath ... (Director)
1986
- Devil in the Flesh ... (Director)
1984
- Henry IV ... (Director)
1982
- The Eyes, the Mouth ... (Director)
1980
- A Leap in the Dark ... (Screenplay)
- My Name Is Anna Magnani as Self
- Mouth Harmonica ... (Screenplay)
- Vacation in Val Trebbia as Il marito
1979
- La macchina cinema as Self
- The Cinema Machine
1977
1976
- Victory March ... (Director)
1975
- Les Rendez-vous du dimanche as Self
- Fit to Be Untied as Himself (uncredited)
1974
1972
- Slap the Monster on Page One as Compagno che incita alla calma (uncredited)
- N.P. - The Secret as Predicatore (voce)
- Planet Venus
1971
- In the Name of the Father ... (Director)
1969
- Love and Anger as Lecturer (segment "Discutiamo, discutiamo")
- Long Live the 1st Red and Proletarian May ... (Writer)
- The Calabrian People Raised Their Heads ... (Writer)
1967
- China Is Near ... (Director)
- Cinéma et Réalité as Self
1966
- Francis of Assisi as Pietro di Stacia
1965
- Fists in the Pocket ... (Director)
1962
- Down With Uncle ... (Director)
- Ginepro Became a Man ... (Director)
1961
- Culpability and Punishment ... (Director)