Gianni Amelio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gianni Amelio
Amelio at the 49th Venice International Film Festival (1992)
Born	(1944-01-20) 20 January 1944 (age 81) San Pietro di Magisano, Catanzaro, Italy
Occupation	Film director

Gianni Amelio (born 20 January 1944) is a famous Italian film director. He is known for making movies that explore deep human feelings and social issues.

Gianni Amelio's Early Life and Career

Amelio was born in San Pietro di Magisano, a town in Calabria, Italy. His father moved to Argentina shortly after Gianni was born. Because of this, Gianni grew up mainly with his mother and grandmother. The idea of a missing father figure often appeared in his later films.

Becoming a Film Critic and Assistant Director

While studying philosophy at university in Messina, Amelio became very interested in movies. He started writing about films for a local magazine. In 1965, he moved to Rome. There, he worked as an operator (someone who handles the camera) and an assistant director. He learned from famous directors like Liliana Cavani and Vittorio De Seta. He also made documentaries and commercials for television.

First Works in Television and Cinema

Amelio's first important work was a TV film called La città del sole (The City of the Sun) in 1973. It was inspired by an old book. He then made a documentary about the making of the film 1900 in 1976. Two years later, he directed a mystery film called La morte al lavoro (Death at Work). This film won awards at the Locarno and Hyères festivals. His 1979 film, The Little Archimedes, also received good reviews.

In 1982, Amelio made his first movie for cinemas, Blow to the Heart (Colpire al cuore). This film was about terrorism in Italy and was shown at the Venice Film Festival.

Award-Winning Films and Recognition

In 1987, Amelio released I ragazzi di via Panisperna. This movie told the story of Italian physicists from the 1930s, like Enrico Fermi. It won an award for best screenplay. His 1989 film, Open Doors (Porte aperte), starred Gian Maria Volonté. This film showed that Amelio was one of Italy's best directors. It was even nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1991 Academy Awards. The movie also won many other important awards, including four Felix awards and four David di Donatello awards.

His 1992 film, The Stolen Children (Il ladro di bambini), was also very successful. It won a special prize at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. In 1994, Lamerica, a film about people moving from Albania to Italy, also won many awards. Four years later, The Way We Laughed (Così ridevano) won the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival. Amelio won another award for best director for his 2004 film, The Keys to the House (Le chiavi di casa).

Amelio was part of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. In 2006, he released his eighth feature film, The Missing Star (La stella che non c'è). From 2009 to 2012, he was the director of the Torino Film Festival in Turin.

Gianni Amelio's Filmography

• La città del sole (1973, TV)
• Effetti speciali (1974, TV)
• Bertolucci secondo il cinema (1976, TV)
• La morte al lavoro (1978, TV)
• The Little Archimedes (1979, TV)
• I velieri (1980, TV)
• Blow to the Heart (1982)
• I ragazzi di via Panisperna (1987)
• Open Doors (1989)
• The Stolen Children (1992)
• Lamerica (1994)
• The Way We Laughed (1998)
• The Keys to the House (2004)
• The Missing Star (2006)
• The First Man (2011)
• L'intrepido (2013)
• Happy to Be Different (2014)
• Tenderness (2017)
• Hammamet (2020)
• The Lord of the Ants (2022)
• Battlefield (2024)

Awards and Achievements

Gianni Amelio has won many important awards for his films:

• Nastro d'Argento: Best Director
  • Open Doors (1991)
  • The Stolen Children (1993)
  • Lamerica (1995)
  • The Keys to the House (2005)
• Leone d'oro at Venice Film Festival
  • The Way We Laughed (1998)
• European Film Awards: Best Film
  • Open Doors (1991)
  • The Stolen Children (1993)
  • Lamerica (1995)

See also

In Spanish: Gianni Amelio para niños