Talk: Marco Bellocchio

Spanning more than fifty years, the career of Italian director Marco Bellocchio is one of stunning richness, consistency and audaciousness. He captured the anti-authoritarian spirit of the 1960s in caustic, provocative films such as I pugni in tasca (1965) and Nel nome del padre (IFFR 1972). In the 1980s, he remade himself with Il diavolo in corpo (1986), inaugurating a series of dreamlike films exploring identity, interpersonal relationships, desire, sexuality and power. Buongiorno, notte (2003), Vincere (2009), the TV series Esterno notte (IFFR 2022), or his latest Rapito (2023) are perfect examples of his unique incursions into the history and politics of Italy. Bellocchio’s body of work includes original screenplays, collaborations with controversial psychoanalyst Massimo Fagioli, literary adaptations and quasi-autobiographical films.

What sets Bellocchio’s cinema apart is his ceaseless exploration – both through the craft of storytelling and the creation of original images – of the flashpoints where inner, psychic life and the exterior turbulence are inseparably fused. In this wide-ranging Talk, Bellocchio will reveal his unflagging, prolific passion as a filmmaker and his emotional connection to all stages of the filmmaking process.