Paolo Sorrentino | |
|---|---|
 Sorrentino at the2018 Venice Film Festival | |
| Born | (1970-05-31)31 May 1970 (age 55) |
| Alma mater | University of Naples Federico II |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Notable work | Il Divo (2009) The Great Beauty (2013) The Hand of God (2021) |
| Awards | Full list |
Paolo Sorrentino (/sɒrənˈtiːnoʊ/;Italian:[ˈpaːolosorrenˈtiːno]; born 31 May 1970)[1] is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. He is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers ofItalian cinema working today. He is known for visually striking and complex dramas and has often been compared toFederico Fellini andMichelangelo Antonioni.[2] He has receivednumerous accolades, including anAcademy Award accepted forBest International Film, aBAFTA Award, aGolden Globe, twoCannes Film Festival prizes, fourVenice Film Festival Awards and fourEuropean Film Awards. In Italy he was honoured with eightDavid di Donatello and sixNastro d'Argento awards.
Sorrentino made his directorial film debut with theItaliancomedy-dramaOne Man Up (2001), for which he received theNastro d'Argento for Best New Director, followed byThe Consequences of Love (2004),The Family Friend (2006), andThis Must Be the Place (2011). The biographical dramaIl Divo (2009) was awarded theCannes Film Festival Jury Prize. He received critical acclaim with theart dramaThe Great Beauty (2013), which won theAcademy Award, theGolden Globe, and theBAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[3]
His next films wereYouth (2015),Loro (2018), andThe Hand of God (2021), the latter of which was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best International Feature Film. He is also known for creating and directing theHBO drama seriesThe Young Pope (2016) andThe New Pope (2019). He has worked with songwritersAntonello Venditti,Paloma Faith, andMark Kozelek, and has written three books.
Sorrentino was born to a bank director and a housewife in theArenella district ofNaples and grew up in theVomero district. He has a brother, Marco, and a sister, Daniela. He became an orphan at 16 after losing his parents to an accidentalcarbon monoxide leak in theirRoccaraso mountain holiday house.[4] He studied economics at theUniversity of Naples Federico II but did not graduate. He is married to his childhood friend Daniela D'Antonio, a journalist. They have two children.
His first film as a screenwriter,The Dust of Naples, was released in 1998. He also began directing short movies, includingL'amore non ha confini in 1998 andLa notte lunga in 2001. His feature-length debut wasOne Man Up, for which he was awarded theNastro D'Argento prize.
He achieved international recognition in 2004 for his thrillerThe Consequences of Love. The film, which explores the mindset of a lonely businessman being used as a pawn by theMafia, won many awards and was nominated for thePalme d'Or at the2004 Cannes Film Festival.[5] Sorrentino's next feature,The Family Friend, was shown at theCannes Film Festival in May[6] and theLondon Film Festival in October 2006; it tells the story of a malicious septuagenarianloan shark who develops a fixation with the daughter of one of his customers. Sorrentino made his acting debut the same year with a cameo appearance inNanni Moretti's filmThe Caiman, which was also shown at the 2006 London Film Festival.
Sorrentino's following film,Il Divo (2008), is a dramatised biopic ofGiulio Andreotti, a controversial Italian politician. The feature, which won thePrix du Jury at Cannes Film Festival, sees Sorrentino reunited withThe Consequences of Love starToni Servillo, who plays the part of Andreotti. In 2009, it was announced Sorrentino wrote the screenplay for a film version ofNiccolò Ammaniti's novelTi prendo e ti porto via (Steal You Away).[7]This Must Be the Place (2011) marked the English-language feature debut of the Italian filmmaker. The plot centres on a middle-aged, wealthy rock star, played by two-time Academy Award winnerSean Penn, who becomes bored in his retirement and takes on the quest of finding the guard of the German camp where his father was imprisoned, who now lives in hiding in the United States. The film was co-written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello,[8] and premiered in competition at the2011 Cannes Film Festival.[9]
His 2013 filmThe Great Beauty won theOscar forBest Foreign Language Film in the2014 Academy Awards.[10] Jay Weissberg ofVariety hailed the film as "a densely packed, often astonishing cinematic feast that honors Rome in all its splendor and superficiality."[11] It won theBafta award forBest Film Not in the English Language in the67th British Academy Film Awards. It also won theGolden Globe forBest Foreign Language Film and was nominated for thePalme d'Or at the2013 Cannes Film Festival.[12] The film also received several accolades at the2013 European Film Awards, including "Best Film" and "Best Director" for Sorrentino.[13]
Sorrentino then directedYouth (2015), his second English-language film which featuresMichael Caine as a retired orchestra conductor. The film also starredHarvey Keitel,Rachel Weisz, andJane Fonda.[14] It competed for the Palme d'Or at the2015 Cannes Film Festival.[15] Kenneth Turan ofNPR described the film as "a meditation on the wonders and complications of life, an examination of what matters to people, no matter what their age".[16] Sorrentino received theNastro d'Argento for Best Director.
In 2019, it was announced that Sorrentino would be directingJennifer Lawrence as mob informant Arlyne Brickman inMob Girl. The film is an adaptation of thebook of the same name byTeresa Carpenter.[17] Sorrentino will also be working as a co-producer on the film with Lawrence, as well as co-writing the screenplay.[17][18]
Sorrentino’s 2021 feature,The Hand of God, filmed in Naples, contains autobiographical elements. In an article about the film,The Guardian called it a coming of age story that was Sorrentino's "most personal" film to date, representing a departure from the detached style of some of his earlier work. Sorrentino also called the film "a completely different movie" in terms of style and, regarding the autobiographical elements, acknowledged that "almost everything is true."[19] The film, which reunited Sorrentino with Toni Servillo, was selected as the Italian entry for theAcademy Award for Best International Feature Film at the94th Academy Awards.[20] The film was nominated but ultimately lost to theRyusuke Hamaguchi filmDrive My Car (2021).
As announced in 2021, Sorrentino will next direct the biopicSue[21] starring and produced by Lawrence as well. The movie — to be written by Lauren Schuker Blum, Rebecca Angelo andJohn Logan — will chronicle the life of Hollywood agentSue Mengers asApple Studios backs the film.[22] In a fierce bidding war for the film between Apple andNetflix, the package offers ranged from $80 million to $95 million for the budget.[23] In 2023 it was reported Sorrentino was directing another "love letter to Naples",Parthenope, the cast to includeGary Oldman.[24]
In 2025, Sorrentino confirmed toEntertainment Weekly that the Jennifer Lawrence projectsMob Girl andSue would not be going forward.[25] In August 2025, he will be honoured with theHonorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for "outstanding contribution to the art of cinema". A retrospective of his films will also be featured as part of the31st Sarajevo Film Festival’s "Tribute To" program.[26]
When asked about the influence of theVatican on society, Sorrentino said he was a non-believer.[27]
In 2015, Sorrentino was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at theAmerican University of Rome.[28]
Feature films
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Dust of Naples | No | Yes | No |
| 2001 | One Man Up | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2004 | The Consequences of Love | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2006 | The Family Friend | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2008 | Il Divo | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2011 | This Must Be The Place | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2013 | The Great Beauty | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2015 | Youth | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2018 | Loro | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2021 | The Hand of God | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2024 | Parthenope | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2025 | La grazia | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Short films and documentaries
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Un paradiso [it] | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 1998 | L'amore non ha confini [it] | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 2001 | La notte lunga | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 2002 | La primavera del 2002. L'Italia protesta, l'Italia si ferma | Yes | No | Documentary |
| 2004 | Giovani talenti italiani | Yes | No | Documentary Segment:Quando le cose vanno male |
| 2009 | La partita lenta [it] | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| L'Aquila 2009. Cinque registi tra le macerie | Yes | No | Documentary Segment:L'assegnazione delle tende | |
| 2010 | Napoli 24 [it] | Yes | Yes | Documentary Segment:La principessa di Napoli |
| 2011 | In the Mirror | Yes | Yes | Commercial for Yamamay |
| 2014 | La Fortuna | Yes | Yes | Segment fromRio, I Love You |
| Sabbia | Yes | No | Commercial forArmani | |
| The Dream | Yes | Yes | Commercial forBulgari | |
| 2017 | Killer in Red | Yes | Yes | Commercial forCampari |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Caiman | Aida's Husband |
| 2009 | A Question of the Heart | Alberto's Friend |
TV series
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Young Pope | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 episodes; also creator |
| 2018–2024 | My Brilliant Friend | Yes | |||
| 2019 | The New Pope | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 episodes; also creator |
| 2025– | M. Son of the Century | Yes |
Other TV work
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | La squadra | Yes | 2 episodes | ||
| 2004 | Sabato, domenica e lunedì | Yes | Television film | ||
| 2010 | Boris | Himself | Episode: "Nella rete" | ||
| 2014 | Le voci di dentro | Yes | Television film | ||
| 2020 | Homemade | Yes | Yes | Episode: "Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit" | |
| 2021 | Cinque pezzi facili | Yes | 5 episodes | ||
| 2023 | Call My Agent - Italia | Himself | Season 1, episode 2[29] |
| Year | Title | Rotten Tomatoes[30] | Metacritic[31] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | One Man Up | N/A | N/A |
| 2004 | The Consequences of Love | 80% (5 reviews) | N/A |
| 2006 | The Family Friend | 70% (10 reviews) | N/A |
| 2009 | Il divo | 92% (51 reviews) | 81% (17 reviews) |
| 2011 | This Must Be the Place | 66% (87 reviews) | 61% (29 reviews) |
| 2013 | The Great Beauty | 91% (135 reviews) | 86% (34 reviews) |
| 2015 | Youth | 72% (213 reviews) | 64% (41 reviews) |
| 2018 | Loro | 79% (77 reviews) | 56% (15 reviews) |
| 2021 | The Hand of God | 84% (158 reviews) | 76% (36 reviews) |
| 2024 | Parthenope | 46% (100 reviews) | 52% (27 reviews) |
| 2025 | La grazia | 75% (20 reviews) | 69% (12 reviews) |
Novels
Short stories
