Marco Bellocchio

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 Bellocchios 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 Andersons If 1972 Victory March 1976 A Leap in the Dark 1980 Henry IV 1984 Devil in the Flesh 1986 and My Mothers Smile 2002 which told the story of a wealthy Italian artist a defaultMarxist 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 Festival6 On 6 September 2012 Bellocchio condemned the Catholic Churchs interference in politics after the premiere of his controversial film about a highprofile 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 Englaros 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