Sabina Guzzanti | |
|---|---|
 Guzzanti in 2011 | |
| Born | (1963-07-25)25 July 1963 (age 61) Rome, Italy |
| Occupations |
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| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Parent | Paolo Guzzanti (father) |
| Relatives | Corrado Guzzanti (brother) Caterina Guzzanti (sister) |
| Awards | European Film Awards - Best Documentary Award 2005:Viva Zapatero! (Nominated) Sundance Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize 2006:Viva Zapatero! (Nominated) |
| Website | http://www.sabinaguzzanti.it/ |
Sabina Guzzanti (born 25 July 1963) is an Italiansatirist, actress, writer, and producer whose work is devoted to examining social and political life in Italy.
Born inRome as the eldest daughter of celebrated Italianpolitical commentator and journalistPaolo Guzzanti (former senator ofForza Italia, incumbent deputy and deputy secretary forItalian Liberal Party), she graduated from theAcademy of Dramatic Arts of Rome.[1]
Her first appearances on stage were at the side of her brotherCorrado, also a skilledsatirical writer and actor.
Since 1987, Sabina Guzzanti has practicedNichiren Buddhism as a member of the global Buddhist associationSoka Gakkai International.[2]
Guzzanti's career began when she took part in a series of successful television comedy formats such asProffimamente... non-stop (directed byEnzo Trapani),L'araba fenice (directed by Antonio Ricci),La TV delle ragazze andScusate l'interruzione;[3] her imitations of the famous Italian porn starMoana Pozzi gave her popularity, and the Italian film directorGiuseppe Bertolucci recruited her to star in his filmThe Camels (I Cammelli).[1] Her career in this period was at its apex, as she starred in several films, toured Italian theatres with her own comedy shows (such asCon fervido zelo in 1991, andNon io: Sabina e le altre in 1994[3]), and even held her one-woman showLa posta del cuore. Her first attempt at directing is the 1998 shortDonna selvaggia.
In 2001, she participated to thealter-globalization demonstrations against theG8 inGenoa, while impersonatingOriana Fallaci, a prominent Italian journalist who was very critical of the movement. Since Fallaci was ill at the time, Guzzanti's impersonation was received with controversy.
In November 2003 Sabina Guzzanti wrote, directed and was featured in the first and only installment ofRaiot, a late-night TV political satire show broadcast onRai 3. After lampooningItalian Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi, she was sued by Berlusconi'sMediaset lawyers (notablyCesare Previti's law firm) for "lies and insinuation" and the show was pulled amid controversy; in the suing document Previti defined satire as "that thing which tends to minimize and to make a politician likeable, to diminish the social tensions" ("quella cosa che tende a sdrammatizzare e a rendere simpatico un politico, a diminuire le tensioni sociali"[4]) as the basis to accuse the show of not being satirical but a direct political attack. As a form of protest, the second instalment was recorded live in the Auditorium of Rome and broadcast by independent television networks; during the event among othersDario Fo,Beppe Grillo andDaniele Luttazzi gave her their support.[5] After that Sabina Guzzanti announced that the only official instalment ofRaiot had completely vanished from theRAI's archives.[4]
As a form of protest against the censorship imposed onRaiot, Sabina Guzzanti shot her side of the story in the filmViva Zapatero (2005) in which she condemns the lack of freedom of expression in Italy.[6]Viva Zapatero! premiered atVenice Film Festival and was met with acclaim.[7] The movie has also been invited to screen at a number of other International Film Festival: Tribeca Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and San Sebastian.[8]
At the end of 2005 she was once again allowed on television to feature in the last installment ofAdriano Celentano's showRockpolitik, but the producers "forbade" her to speak about Berlusconi.[9] After the victory ofThe Union in the2006 elections and the progressive fading of Berlusconi's influence on the RAI, she declared she still wouldn't return to work at the RAI unless serious reforms were launched to make the company's management independent from the politicians.[10]
In 2007 she direct her second movie,Sympathy for the Lobster (Le Ragioni dell’Aragosta), a comedy which featured the comedians fromAvanzi, a popular political satire show much in vogue in the early nineties.
In July 2008, during a demonstration against Silvio Berlusconi Government atPiazza Navona, Rome, Guzzanti made controversial remarks against the then Minister of Equal OpportunityMara Carfagna and thePope Benedict XVI. She was not prosecuted for her speech against the Pope,[11] while she was condemned forslander concerning Carfagna.[12][13]After these events Guzzanti explained her side of the story in the theatrical dramaVilipendio!.[14]
In 2010 her third featured film,Draquila. Italy Trembles (Draquila), was screened out of competition at theCannes Film Festival.[15] It's a report of the events tied to theearthquake in L'Aquila.
In 2011 Guzzanti directsFranca la Prima, her personal homage to an important actress in Italy,Franca Valeri.[16]
During the same year Guzzanti was back on the stage withSì, Sì, Sì….oh Sì!, a humorous voyage through Italy's most important personalities from both the social and political sphere.[17]
In March 2012 Guzzanti returned to TV with a new show,Un due tre…Stella! onLa7.[18]
In 2014, her last featured film,The State-Mafia Pact (La trattativa), was screened at the 71stVenice Film Festival. It's a reconstruction of one of the dark periods of Italian history: thenegotiation between Italian State andCosa Nostra during the 90s and its effect on democracy.[19]
In the summer of 2015 Guzzanti starred in a new project, a web news satire calledTG Porco which was financed by crowdfunding.[20]
In the same year she returned to the theatre once again with her showCome ne venimmo fuori. Proiezioni dal futuro, a satiric monologue on the post-capitalist and neo-liberal policies.[21]
Sabina Guzzanti is accused by various actors, politicians and writers of "aggression" against certain figures, mainlySilvio Berlusconi and his supporters.
In 2001 her impersonation of journalistOriana Fallaci, who hadcancer at the time, was met with controversy. During thealter-globalization demonstrations, Guzzanti-Fallaci was giving a speech ridiculing what she considered to be Fallaci's hypocrisy, when a man in the crowd shouted "May you as well get a cancer" (Che ti venga un cancro), and Guzzanti reply "I also already have it; and may it come to your mother too" (Ce l'ho già e venisse anche alla tua mamma).[22][23] Since Fallaci herself replied to this sketch,[24] Guzzanti clarified that the monologue's content "was about Fallaci's positions on Islam and obviously did not concern her illness".[24]
In 2008 she was accused of publicdefamation againstPope Benedict XVI and ofslander of the then Minister of Equal OpportunityMara Carfagna. She said thatPope Benedict XVI would be dead in 20 years and would end up in hell as punishment for the Church's treatment ofhomosexuals, so he would be "tormented by big demons – and very (sexually) active ones". She also accusedMara Carfagna offellating Silvio Berlusconi in order to become Minister. Although threatened with punishments of up to five years in prison for these comments, she was not prosecuted,[25][11] while she was condemned for slander against Carfagna.[12][13]
After the scandal of the alleged "Madoff of Parioli", Sabina Guzzanti admitted to having given money to investors, as well. Aware of having been a victim of a scam, she said that she "felt like an idiot", claiming to have put in 150,000 €. Such revelation sparked another series of controversies, since during her speeches and her shows, she had always declared her opposition to this kind of practice, deemed typical oftax evaders. Guzzanti would have received – had everything gone as promised – earnings on her investments abroad, then exempt from taxation, within Italy itself.[26]
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