Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino is making waves as he prepares for the Venice premiere of his new film, “La Grazia.” This cinematic event highlights how films have profoundly influenced his life. Known for masterpieces like “The Great Beauty,” Sorrentino discusses how “movies saved my sad life” and offers insights into his creative process and future plans.
Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino (“The Great Beauty”) is readying the world premiere of his latest film, “La Grazia,” which will compete for the Golden Lion at this month’s Venice Film Festival.
During a recent masterclass at the Sarajevo Film Festival, the Italian auteur remained non-committal about future projects, preparing the audience to expect the unexpected.
“I don’t like to have objectives. I don’t love the idea that I have to do new things,” Sorrentino explained. “I stay at home without doing anything, and then suddenly something comes up in my mind that becomes an obsession, and I say, ‘OK, let’s do a movie about this obsession.’”
On where these obsessions might lead, Sorrentino kept quiet, advising moviegoers not to get their hopes up. “Probably I am going to do worse, like many directors,” he quipped, drawing laughter from the audience.
Sorrentino’s Journey in Cinema
Sorrentino joined Serbian filmmaker Ognjen Glavonić in conversation, attending the Sarajevo Film Festival to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award. Festival head Jovan Marjanović lauded him for “the great beauty that he gave us with his films.” A retrospective of Sorrentino’s films was also featured in the festival’s “Tribute To” program.
His latest feature, “La Grazia,” is a love story reuniting Sorrentino with actor Toni Servillo, alongside Italian star Anna Ferzetti. The film marks the opening of the Venice Film Festival, which runs Aug. 27 – Sept. 9.
Sorrentino’s relationship with the prestigious Italian festival is a long-standing one, having premiered his debut feature “One Man Up” there in 2001. His iconic series “The Young Pope” and the 2021 film “The Hand of God,” which won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, also made their marks at Venice.
Reflecting on Early Influences
Sorrentino reminisced about his first visit to Venice a quarter-century ago. “When I went for the first time, I didn’t know anything about the movie world,” he recalled. “Meeting journalists was a complete shock the first time.”
Not long after, he received an unexpected phone call inviting “One Man Up” to the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival, a moment he initially suspected to be a prank.
“My producer was always doing games with different voices,” he said. “And the guy said, ‘Robert DeNiro wants your movie at the Tribeca Film Festival!’”
The Beauty of Obsession
During a candid 90-minute session, Sorrentino shared his reasons for always directing his own scripts. “I understand only the things that I write,” he said. He also expressed admiration for Fellini’s “8 1/2”, calling it “a great movie because it’s not perfect.”
Despite his dislike for being on set, his efficiency is something producers appreciate. “Producers love me because I save money, but only because I am eager to go home to watch football matches,” he admitted.
The director reflected on significant figures like Silvio Berlusconi and Diego Maradona, who shaped his films. Maradona’s 1984 arrival in Naples, when Sorrentino was a teen, was pivotal. “Maradona told us what a big, unbelievable show is, and I found the same in cinema,” he said.
Sorrentino’s curiosity about vastly different people, such as Berlusconi, continues to inspire him. “I am very lazy, and I am exactly the opposite of Berlusconi. So I was very curious to find out how the man is so full of life,” he remarked. “In a hidden part of me, I would love to be them.”
The Saving Grace of Cinema
From his days as a “depressed” teen, Sorrentino found refuge in cinema. He insists, “Movies saved my sad life,” and continues to turn to film-making whenever sadness strikes. “Every time I feel that I am too sad, I think, ‘Now it’s time to do a movie.’”
An audience member asked Sorrentino for his definition of wisdom, prompting him to quote Jep Gambardella from “The Great Beauty”: “Life is a sort of blah, blah, blah. And under the blah, blah, blah, we are living. We are the heroes of our own life.”
The Sarajevo Film Festival runs Aug. 15 – 22.
