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 January 20, 1944) is a famous Italian film director. He is known for making movies that explore important social topics and human relationships. His films often win many awards.

Early Life and First Steps in Film

Growing Up in Italy

Gianni Amelio was born in a small town called San Pietro di Magisano in Calabria, Italy. He grew up with his mother and grandmother. The idea of a missing parent often appeared in his later films.

Discovering Cinema

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, a big city in Italy. There, he worked as an assistant director for other filmmakers. He also made documentaries and commercials for television.

Making Movies for TV and Cinema

Early TV Works

Amelio's first important work was a TV film called La città del sole (The City of the Sun) in 1973. It was made for RAI TV, Italy's national broadcaster. He then directed Bertolucci secondo il cinema (1976), a documentary about the making of a movie. He also made a thriller called Effetti speciali.

In 1978, he directed the mystery film La morte al lavoro (Death at Work). This film won awards at the Locarno and Hyères film festivals. His 1979 film, The Little Archimedes, also received good reviews.

Moving to the Big Screen

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.

In 1987, he released I ragazzi di via Panisperna (The Boys of Via Panisperna). This movie told the story of Italian physicists from the 1930s, like Enrico Fermi. It won an award for best screenplay.

Award-Winning Films

Amelio's 1989 film, Open Doors (Porte aperte), starred Gian Maria Volonté. This movie showed that Amelio was one of Italy's best directors. It was even nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1991 Academy Awards. The film won many other important awards, including four Felix awards, two Silver Ribbon awards, four David di Donatello awards, and three Golden Globes.

His 1992 film, The Stolen Children (Il ladro di bambini), was also very successful. It won the Special Prize of Jury at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. It also received two Silver Ribbon awards and five David di Donatello awards.

In 1994, Amelio made Lamerica, a film about people from Albania moving to Italy. This movie also won many awards, including two Silver Ribbons and three Davids. Four years later, his film The Way We Laughed (Così ridevano) won the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival.

Amelio won another Silver Ribbon for best director in 2005 for The Keys to the House (Le chiavi di casa). This film was inspired by a book by Giuseppe Pontiggia.

Later Works and Roles

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

In 2014, Amelio released a documentary called Happy to be Different.

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 Recognition

Gianni Amelio has received many important awards for his work:

• Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) for 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 for Best Film:
  • Open Doors (1991)
  • The Stolen Children (1993)
  • Lamerica (1995)

See also

In Spanish: Gianni Amelio para niños