Born in Italy in 1953. He is a master of Italian cinema who has worked across multiple roles as a director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Following his feature debut Ecce Bombo (1978), he won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival for Sweet Dreams (1981), and Palombella Rossa (1989) was named the top film of that year by Cahiers du Cinéma. Every film he has directed since Dear Diary (1993) has screened at the Cannes Film Festival, a streak he continues to this day; he won the Palme d′Or for The Son′s Room (2001), and in 2012 served as the president of the jury in Cannes′ main competition. He has also consistently featured in Cannes′ main competition with films such as The Caiman (2006), a satire of the Berlusconi era, We Have a Pope (2011), starring Michel Piccoli, and Mia Madre (2015). Three Floors (2021) screened at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. His new film, It Will Happen Tonight, stars Louis Garrel and Jasmine Trinca and had its world premiere in the main competition of the 2026 Venice Film Festival, where it received a nine-minute standing ovation and was nominated for the Golden Lion.