Ferzan Özpetek

Ferzan Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. He moved to Rome, Italy in 1976 to study movie history at the La Sapienza University in Rome. Later he attended directing courses at the Accademia d’Arte Drammatica "Silvio D’Amico" in Rome before working as an assistant director with Massimo Troisi, Maurizio Ponzi, and other Italian directors such as Lamberto Bava, Ricky Tognazzi, Francesco Nuti, Sergio Citti and Marco Risi. Özpetek made his directorial debut in 1997 with “Hamam” (also released as IL bagno turco and Steam: The Turkish Bath). The movie garnered considerable critical success and was later released in USA. His second film “Harem Suare” was a lyrical depiction of the last days of Ottoman Empire. It was selected in the category of “Selection Officielle” at Cannes Film Festival in 1999. He participated in the Berlin Film Festival in 2001 with his film “Cahil Periler” (Le Fate ignotanti). His forth film, “Karşı Pencere” (Facing Windows) won 40 prizes. Özpetek won the prize of “the best director”, “best film” and “best actress” in the 38th International Karlovy Film Festival. In October 2008, he was awarded the Italian Solidarity Merit Medal at the Italian Culture Center in Istanbul. In 2010, he reveived the Golden Wings Audience Award for "Serseri Mayınlar" in the London Turkish Film Festival. Currently, Özpetek resides and works in Italy.

His important films:
IL Bagno turco (Hamam, 1997)
Harem Suare (1999)
Le Fate ignoranti (His Secret Life, 2001)
La Finestra di fronte (Facing Windows, 2003)
Cuore Sacro (2005)
Saturno contro (2007)
Un Giorno Perfetto (A Perfect Day, 2008)