Ferzan Özpetek

Ferzan Özpetek — Biography

Born in Istanbul, Ferzan Özpetek has lived and worked in Italy since the 1970s as a Turkish-Italian film director, screenwriter and author. He became one of the best-known names in Italian cinema through films such as Hamam, Le fate ignoranti and La finestra di fronte; recently he has been in the news for Diamanti (2024), which drew record audiences in Italy, and for directing a series on the life of Giorgio Armani.

He went to Italy in 1976, first learning the language in Perugia, then studying cinema at Rome's La Sapienza University and taking classes at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art. For about fifteen years he worked as an assistant to directors including Ricky Tognazzi, Lamberto Bava, Francesco Nuti and Sergio Citti. He moved into directing in 1997 with Hamam, shown in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at Cannes and a box-office record-breaker in countries such as Turkey and Norway. Harem Suare (1999), set in Istanbul, was selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes. Le fate ignoranti (2001), La finestra di fronte (2003), Saturno contro (2007), Mine vaganti (2010) and Rosso Istanbul (2017) followed, and he has also written novels.

His work has brought David di Donatello, Nastro d'Argento and Globo d'oro awards, and he holds the rank of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. In August 2026 the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival announced that it would give an honorary award to him and to Vahide Perçin. His sister is the actress Zeynep Aksu.