Alice Rohrwacher

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Alice Rohrwacher
Alice Rohrwacher at Lisbon Film Festival (2019)
Born (1981-12-29) 29 December 1981 (age 42)
Alma materUniversity of Turin
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, editor
Years active2005–present
RelativesAlba Rohrwacher (sister)

Alice Rohrwacher (Italian: [aˈliːtʃe rorˈvaːker], German: [ˈʁoːɐ̯vaxɐ]; born 29 December 1981) is an Italian film director, editor and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with Heavenly Body (2011). She has since directed notable films such as The Wonders (2014), winner of the Grand Prix, Happy as Lazzaro (2018), which received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay, and La chimera (2023). Her short Le pupille (2022) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.[1]

Early life

Rohrwacher was born in Fiesole, in Tuscany, to an Italian mother and German father.[2] She spent her youth in the village of Castel Giorgio, Umbria, where her mother was born and her father Reinhard worked as a beekeeper. She is the sister of the Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher.[3] She studied Classics at the University of Turin, then specialized in screenwriting at the Holden School in Turin.[3]

Career

Her first experience in filmmaking was in 2006, when directing a part of the Italian documentary Checosamanca.

In 2011, she directed her first feature film, Heavenly Body, which premiered at the Directors' Fortnight during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim.[4][5]

Her second feature film, The Wonders, won the Grand Prix at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[6] Also in 2014, Rohrwacher was appointed the President of the International Jury for the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

She announced filming of her third film Lazzaro Felice in 2017 with the film starring Sergi López and Rohrwacher's sister Alba Rohrwacher.[7] The film premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for Best Screenplay. It was released by Netflix in December of that year.

Rohrwacher was invited to serve on the jury for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[8] She was nominated alongside Alfonso Cuaron for their short Le pupille (2022) for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film losing to An Irish Goodbye.[9] Her latest film La chimera (2023) starring Josh O'Connor and Isabella Rossellini premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival where it was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or.

Style

Bong Joon-ho described her work as "a mix of magic realism and neorealism, innocent characters butting up against corrupt behemoths".[10]

Favorite films

In 2022, Rohrwacher listed her 10 favorite films in a Sight & Sound poll.[11]

Filmography

As filmmaker

Year Title Director Screenwriter Notes
2006 Checosamanca Yes No Documentary film
2011 Heavenly Body Yes Yes Feature film
2014 The Wonders Yes Yes Feature film
2014 9x10 novanta Yes Yes Documentary film (segment: "Una canzone")
2015 De Djess Yes Yes Short film
2018 Happy as Lazzaro Yes Yes Feature film
2021 Futura Yes No Documentary film
2022 Le pupille Yes Yes Short film
2023 La chimera Yes Yes Feature film

Other work

Year Title Director Screenwriter Cinematographer Editor Notes
2005 Un piccolo spettacolo No Yes Yes Yes Documentary film
2008 Boygo No No No Yes Short film
Tradurre No No No Yes Documentary film
2009 In tempo, ma rubato No No No Yes Documentary film
Residuo fisso No No Yes Yes Documentary short
2020 My Brilliant Friend Yes No No No HBO series; 2 episodes
Ad una mela Yes No No No Trailer for the Vienna International Film Festival

Accolades

Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
2011 Göteborg Film Festival International Debut Award Heavenly Body Won
Nastro d'Argento Best New Director Won
David di Donatello Best New Director Nominated
Cannes Film Festival Caméra d'Or Nominated
2014 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix The Wonders Won
Munich Film Festival CineVision Award Won
Abu Dhabi Film Festival Black Pearl Award Won
2018 Cannes Film Festival Best Screenplay Award Happy as Lazzaro Won [12]
2022 Academy Award Best Live Action Short Film Le pupille Nominated [13]
2023 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or La chimera Nominated

References

  1. ^ "2023 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". www.oscars.org.
  2. ^ "Rassegna stampa Alba Rohrwacher". Mymovies.it. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  3. ^ a b Fulvia Caprara (22 April 2011). "Rohrwacher, sorelle d'arte che non-si incontrano mai". La Stampa. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  4. ^ Smith, Ian Hayden (2012). International Film Guide 2012. p. 154. ISBN 978-1908215017.
  5. ^ "The moon in May". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Awards 2014 : Competition". Cannes. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  7. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (7 August 2017). "Italy's Alice Rohrwacher Shooting 'Lazzaro Felice,' Match Factory Takes World Sales". Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  8. ^ Oldham, Stuart (29 April 2019). "Cannes Announces 2019 Jury Members Including Elle Fanning and Yorgos Lanthimos". Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  9. ^ "2023 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". www.oscars.org.
  10. ^ Joon-ho, Bong (25 February 2020). "Bong Joon Ho's 20 upcoming directors for the 2020s". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Alice Rohrwacher names the 10 greatest films of all time". Far Out. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Cannes screenplay prize winner 'Happy As Lazzaro' gets UK deal (exclusive)". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Oscars winners at the 95th Academy Awards - full list". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

Further reading

  • Nicholas Albanese, 'Bodies in space: Emplacement in Alice Rohrwacher's Corpo celeste', in The Italianist, 37:2 (2017), pp. 228-242.
  • Silvia Angeli, 'From the margins: Alice Rohrwacher's liminal adolescents', in Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies, 8:3 (2019), pp. 339-356.
  • Laura Di Bianco, 'Ecocinema Ars et Praxis: Alice Rohrwacher's Lazzaro felice', in The Italianist, 40:2 (2020), pp. 151-164.
  • Roberto Interdonato, 'A different spirituality: On Lazzaro's symbolic potency in Alice Rohrwacher's Happy as Lazzaro', in Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies, 11:1 (2023), pp. 145-161.

External links