Nanni Moretti

Directing

Nanni Moretti

Born 1953-08-19 · Bruneck, Italy

Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (Italian pronunciation: [ˈnanni moˈretti]; born 19 August 1953; Brunico) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. The Palme d'Or winner in 2001, in 2012 he was the President of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for "The Son's Room", a Silver Bear at the 1986 Berlin Film Festival for "The Mass is Ended" and a Silver Lion at the 1981 Venice Film Festival for "Sweet Dreams", in addition to the David di Donatello Award for Best Film on three occasions (for "Caro diario" in 1994, "The Son's Room" in 2001 and "Il caimano" in 2006). Moretti was born in Bruneck, Italy to Roman parents who were both teachers. His father was the late epigraphist Luigi Moretti, a Greek teacher at Sapienza University of Rome. His brother is literary scholar Franco Moretti. While growing up Moretti discovered his two passions, the cinema and water polo. Having finished his studies he pursued a career as a producer, and in 1973 directed his first two short films: Pâté de bourgeois and The Defeat (La sconfitta). In 1976, Nanni Moretti's first feature film Io sono un autarchico (I Am Self-Sufficient) was released. In 1978, he wrote, directed and starred in the movie Ecce Bombo, which tells the story of a student having problems with his entourage. It was screened at the Cannes Festival. Sogni d'oro won the Silver Lion at the 38th Venice International Film Festival. La messa è finita won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival. He may be best known for his films Caro diario (Dear Diary, 1993; followed in 1998 by a sequel, Aprile) and La stanza del figlio (The Son's Room, 2001), the latter of which won the Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Moretti has used certain actors several times in his films, generally playing minor roles. His father Luigi appears in 6 films, Dario Cantarelli and Mauro Fabretti in 5, Antonio Petrocelli in 4. More notable Italian actors he has employed frequently in his films include Silvio Orlando, who appears in 5 films (including the role of protagonist in Il caimano) and Laura Morante, who was featured in Sogni d'oro, Bianca and The Son's Room.[citation needed]. Having played waterpolo in the B division of the Italian championship, his experience later inspired his film Palombella Rossa ("palombella," which literally means "little pigeon," refers to a type of lob shot). His other work has not been widely seen outside Europe, but within his country Moretti is known as a maker of wryly humorous and eccentric films, usually starring himself. His most recent role was in the film Mia Madre (My Mother, 2015) Moretti is also an outspoken political leftist. In 2002, he organized street protests against the government of Silvio Berlusconi. Il caimano (2006) is in part about Berlusconi's controversies: in one of the three portraits of the Italian prime minister Moretti himself plays Berlusconi. Aprile also deals with Italy's political situation and Moretti's views on it. His 2011 film We Have a Pope screened In Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Acting credits

To Each His Own Cinema poster
6.4

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

To Each His Own Cinema

2007

The Hummingbird poster
6.9

Everyone in Marco's life seems constantly restless, from his brilliant but unhappily married parents to his own wife Marina, or even Luisa, the real love of his life, a girl he met during a fateful summer in the '70s and always stayed in touch with. Tragedy and fate seem to haunt him, yet he somehow manages never to get ensnared in the chaos—like his namesake, “the hummingbird”, he focuses all his energy at standing still.

The Hummingbird

2022

A Special Day poster
5.3

At the 60th anniversary of Cannes Film Festival, 34 famous directors are followed by camera.

A Special Day

2012

A Brighter Tomorrow poster
7.0

An old film director, unhappy with the movie he's shooting about a Hungarian circus stranded in Rome during the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, faces divorce from his producer wife and other problems.

A Brighter Tomorrow

2023

Three Floors poster
6.3

Follows the lives of three families who live in a three-story building in a Roman neighbourhood.

Three Floors

2021

We Have a Pope poster
6.8

The newly elected Pope suffers a panic attack just as he is about to greet the faithful who have gathered to see him. His advisors, unable to convince him he is the right man for the job, call on a renowned therapist who also happens to be an atheist. But the Pope's fear of his newfound responsibility is one he must face alone. Winner Best Film at the Italian Golden Globes.

We Have a Pope

2011

The Son's Room poster
7.1

A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba diving accident.

The Son's Room

2001

Santiago, Italia poster
7.2

After the coup d'État of the Democratic government of Allende, the embassy of Italy in Santiago played a major role in helping the opposers of the regime, and extradited many of them to Italy.

Santiago, Italia

2018

We Are Cinema poster
9.5

An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.

We Are Cinema

2021

Caro diario poster
7.3

Nanni Moretti recounts in his diary three slice-of-life stories marked by a dry, ironic gaze: in the first, he rides his Vespa through a deserted, sun-drenched summertime Rome; in the second, he visits a reclusive friend on an island, who ropes him into an impromptu journey between islets in search of quiet; and in the last, he finds himself grappling with an unknown illness.

Caro diario

1993

Palombella rossa poster
7.2

Michele is an MP for the Italian Communist Party who loses his memory in a car crash, though hardly anyone around him seems to notice. During a crucial water polo match on the eve of election day, he gradually begins to remember his past life, revealing a man whose personal and political identity crisis mirrors that of Italian communism itself.

Palombella rossa

1989

Padre Padrone poster
6.8

The true story of the life of Gavino Ledda, the son of a Sardinian shepherd, and how he managed to escape his harsh, almost barbaric existence by slowly educating himself, despite violent opposition from his brutal father.

Padre Padrone

1977

Mia madre poster
6.6

Margherita, a director in the middle of an existential crisis, has to deal with the inevitable and still unacceptable loss of her mother.

Mia madre

2015

Quiet Chaos poster
6.5

Pietro is a successful businessman with a wife and a daughter. One day he helps his brother save two women from drowning at the beach. When he returns home he finds that his wife has died. Now Pietro has to take care of his daughter, Claudia. When he drives her to school soon after, he decides to wait for her all day in front of the school, and soon that's what he does every day.

Quiet Chaos

2008

The Mass Is Ended poster
7.4

Young Father Giulio returns to Rome, where he was born and raised, to replace a priest who has left the clergy to start a family. He is delighted to reunite with his loved ones, especially his mother, sister, and old friends. Once radical leftists like Giulio himself, the latter are now each coping in their own way with the defeat of the revolution. Soon, however, Giulio realizes that despite his best efforts, he seems unable to solve the problems troubling those around him.

The Mass Is Ended

1985

Ecce Bombo poster
7.4

Four friends, former 1968 student protesters who have checked out of politics and struggle to come to terms with the present, try self-criticism to figure out what to do with themselves, only to end up doing what they do best: sinking into endless talk without ever reaching a conclusion.

Ecce Bombo

1978

The Legend of the Palme d'Or poster
6.0

From Martin Scorsese to Jane Campion, from Emir Kusturica to Quentin Tarantino, some of the greatest recipients of this trophy recall special moments relating to the award ceremony which closes the Cannes Film Festival. This film brings to light moving and personal stories, as surprising as they are varied, which all contribute to further enhancing the legend of the Palme d’Or.

The Legend of the Palme d'Or

2015

It Will Happen Tonight poster
NR

The film will explore contemporary emotions, fears, and relationships through intertwined stories, resembling Nevo's narrative style.

It Will Happen Tonight

2026

Aprile poster
7.3

Nanni Moretti once again muses on the ebb and flow of life in April 1996, as he is about to become a father for the first time and finds himself unable to focus on his documentary about the upcoming general elections, where the left is heading into a rematch against Berlusconi.

Aprile

1998

Bianca poster
7.5

Michele, a young mathematics professor, moves into a new flat. Lonely, depressed and neurotic, he spends his time obsessively monitoring the couples around him, especially his neighbors, a young pair struggling to make their relationship work. When Bianca, a new teacher at the local high school, enters his life, Michele finds himself falling in love. At the same time, a string of murders rocks the neighborhood, casting suspicion on him.

Bianca

1984

Fellini: I'm a Born Liar poster
6.2

A look at Fellini's creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks a bit about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. Several actors, a producer, a writer, and a production manager talk about working with Fellini. Archive footage of Fellini and others on the set plus clips from his films provide commentary and illustration for the points interviewees make. Fellini is fully in charge; actors call themselves puppets. He dismisses improvisation and calls for "availability." His sets and his films create images that look like reality but are not; we see the differences and the results.

Fellini: I'm a Born Liar

2003

Franco Battiato - La voce del padrone poster
7.0

Documentary by Marco Spagnoli.

Franco Battiato - La voce del padrone

2022

Filmstudio, mon amour poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Filmstudio, mon amour

2015

Sweet Dreams poster
7.1

Michele is a young filmmaker frustrated by the lack of understanding his work receives and at odds with the film industry, especially a colleague making a musical on the '68 student protests. As he struggles to complete his own film about Freud's mother, Michele's insecurity and creative block manifest in a series of unsettling nightmares. Nanni Moretti's self-inquiry into cinema, political ennui, and men's relationships with their mothers.

Sweet Dreams

1981

Behind the camera

To Each His Own Cinema poster
6.4

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

To Each His Own Cinema

2007

To Each His Own Cinema poster
6.4

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

To Each His Own Cinema

2007

No artwork available
NR

Carlo, a 22-year-old Neapolitan man, agrees to a deal in exchange for a free vacation in Malaga, Spain, but his experiences in Spain prompt him to question his identity and values, potentially altering his life.

Primo Viaggio

A Brighter Tomorrow poster
7.0

An old film director, unhappy with the movie he's shooting about a Hungarian circus stranded in Rome during the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, faces divorce from his producer wife and other problems.

A Brighter Tomorrow

2023

A Brighter Tomorrow poster
7.0

An old film director, unhappy with the movie he's shooting about a Hungarian circus stranded in Rome during the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, faces divorce from his producer wife and other problems.

A Brighter Tomorrow

2023

A Brighter Tomorrow poster
7.0

An old film director, unhappy with the movie he's shooting about a Hungarian circus stranded in Rome during the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, faces divorce from his producer wife and other problems.

A Brighter Tomorrow

2023

Three Floors poster
6.3

Follows the lives of three families who live in a three-story building in a Roman neighbourhood.

Three Floors

2021

Three Floors poster
6.3

Follows the lives of three families who live in a three-story building in a Roman neighbourhood.

Three Floors

2021

Three Floors poster
6.3

Follows the lives of three families who live in a three-story building in a Roman neighbourhood.

Three Floors

2021

We Have a Pope poster
6.8

The newly elected Pope suffers a panic attack just as he is about to greet the faithful who have gathered to see him. His advisors, unable to convince him he is the right man for the job, call on a renowned therapist who also happens to be an atheist. But the Pope's fear of his newfound responsibility is one he must face alone. Winner Best Film at the Italian Golden Globes.

We Have a Pope

2011

We Have a Pope poster
6.8

The newly elected Pope suffers a panic attack just as he is about to greet the faithful who have gathered to see him. His advisors, unable to convince him he is the right man for the job, call on a renowned therapist who also happens to be an atheist. But the Pope's fear of his newfound responsibility is one he must face alone. Winner Best Film at the Italian Golden Globes.

We Have a Pope

2011

We Have a Pope poster
6.8

The newly elected Pope suffers a panic attack just as he is about to greet the faithful who have gathered to see him. His advisors, unable to convince him he is the right man for the job, call on a renowned therapist who also happens to be an atheist. But the Pope's fear of his newfound responsibility is one he must face alone. Winner Best Film at the Italian Golden Globes.

We Have a Pope

2011

The Son's Room poster
7.1

A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba diving accident.

The Son's Room

2001

The Son's Room poster
7.1

A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba diving accident.

The Son's Room

2001

The Son's Room poster
7.1

A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba diving accident.

The Son's Room

2001

Santiago, Italia poster
7.2

After the coup d'État of the Democratic government of Allende, the embassy of Italy in Santiago played a major role in helping the opposers of the regime, and extradited many of them to Italy.

Santiago, Italia

2018

Santiago, Italia poster
7.2

After the coup d'État of the Democratic government of Allende, the embassy of Italy in Santiago played a major role in helping the opposers of the regime, and extradited many of them to Italy.

Santiago, Italia

2018

Santiago, Italia poster
7.2

After the coup d'État of the Democratic government of Allende, the embassy of Italy in Santiago played a major role in helping the opposers of the regime, and extradited many of them to Italy.

Santiago, Italia

2018

Santiago, Italia poster
7.2

After the coup d'État of the Democratic government of Allende, the embassy of Italy in Santiago played a major role in helping the opposers of the regime, and extradited many of them to Italy.

Santiago, Italia

2018

Vittoria poster
7.4

Jasmine is 40 and has everything she ever wanted: a devoted husband, three loving sons, and a thriving hair salon just south of Naples. But after her father’s death, she experiences a recurring dream in which a young girl runs into her arms, offering Jasmine a new sense of fulfilment and completeness she can’t ignore. She decides to follow her dream of a daughter and dives headfirst into the challenging world of international adoption – risking her marriage, her sons’ well-being, and her own moral compass along the way. The entire family is in crisis, until they finally realize that the only way out is together.

Vittoria

2024

Caro diario poster
7.3

Nanni Moretti recounts in his diary three slice-of-life stories marked by a dry, ironic gaze: in the first, he rides his Vespa through a deserted, sun-drenched summertime Rome; in the second, he visits a reclusive friend on an island, who ropes him into an impromptu journey between islets in search of quiet; and in the last, he finds himself grappling with an unknown illness.

Caro diario

1993

Caro diario poster
7.3

Nanni Moretti recounts in his diary three slice-of-life stories marked by a dry, ironic gaze: in the first, he rides his Vespa through a deserted, sun-drenched summertime Rome; in the second, he visits a reclusive friend on an island, who ropes him into an impromptu journey between islets in search of quiet; and in the last, he finds himself grappling with an unknown illness.

Caro diario

1993

Caro diario poster
7.3

Nanni Moretti recounts in his diary three slice-of-life stories marked by a dry, ironic gaze: in the first, he rides his Vespa through a deserted, sun-drenched summertime Rome; in the second, he visits a reclusive friend on an island, who ropes him into an impromptu journey between islets in search of quiet; and in the last, he finds himself grappling with an unknown illness.

Caro diario

1993

Palombella rossa poster
7.2

Michele is an MP for the Italian Communist Party who loses his memory in a car crash, though hardly anyone around him seems to notice. During a crucial water polo match on the eve of election day, he gradually begins to remember his past life, revealing a man whose personal and political identity crisis mirrors that of Italian communism itself.

Palombella rossa

1989