Ozpetek, Ferzan

(1959-)

   Director. Born in Istanbul, in 1977 Ozpetek moved to Rome, where he studied cinema at the university and theater direction at the National Academy of Dramatic Art. He then joined Julian Beck and the Living Theater troupe for a short period before abandoning the stage in order to work as an assistant for a number of the younger Italian directors, including Massimo Troisi, Maurizio Ponzi, and Ricky Tognazzi. In 1997 he directed his first feature, Hamam, il bagno turco (Steam: The Turkish Baths, 1997), an intense drama of self-discovery that was well received at Cannes and brought its producers a Nastro d'argento. This was followed by Harem suare (1999), an exotic tale that allowed a now-elderly Lucia Bose to reminisce about her days as the sultan's favorite concubine in the late years of the Ottoman Empire, and Le fate ignoranti (The Ignorant Fairies, 2000), the story of a wife painfully coming to terms with the discovery of her husband's homosexuality after his death in a car accident. La finestra di fronte (Facing Windows, 2002), a similarly intense drama of interpersonal relationships and unexpected discoveries, also provided Massimo Girotti with his last major film role. Ozpetek's most recent film is Cuore sacro (SacredHeart, 2005), the inspiring fable of an impossible altruism set against the backdrop of modern consumer culture.