Luca Guadagnino

Early life and education

Born in Palermo, Italy, in 1971, to a Sicilian father and an Algerian mother, Guadagnino spent his early childhood in Ethiopia, where his father taught history and Italian. He first studied literature at the University of Palermo and graduated from Rome’s University La Sapienza, in the faculty of History and Critics of Cinema, with a thesis on American film director Jonathan Demme.

Film

Guadagnino made his directorial debut with the feature film The Protagonists (1999), which was presented at the Venice Film Festival. In 2002, he directed Mundo Civilizado, presented at the Locarno Film Festival in 2003. His 2004 film Cuoco Contadino was presented at the Venice Film Festival, and Melissa P. made a successful debut the following year.

In 2009 he directed, wrote, and produced the cult hit I Am Love ("Io Sono L’Amore"). Presented at the Venice Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival, the Busan (South Korea) Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, the film was an immediate success with critics and audiences. In 2010, it was a candidate for the Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, the Golden Globes and the BAFTA nominations for Best Foreign Language film.

Guadagnino's directorial activity continued in 2011 with Inconscio Italiano, a feature-length documentary film presented at the Locarno Film Festival. His work in documentary continued with Bertolucci on Bertolucci (2013), which was shown at the Venice Film Festival, the London Film Festival and Paris Cinematheque, and 50 other festivals in 2013 and 2014. Co-directed with Walter Fasano, the documentary was made entirely from archive material and received top international accolades.

As producer he has realized the well-received short film Diarchia (2010), directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, which won the Pianifica prize at the Locarno Film Festival, received a special mention at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, was nominated for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards, and won the prize for Best Director of a Short Film at the Nastri d'Argento. Guadagnino produced Edoardo Gabbriellini’s feature film Padroni di casa, presented at the Locarno Film Festival, and Antonia, the debut feature film of EFA-nominee and Sundance winner Ferdinando Cito Filomarino.

In 2015, Guadagnino directed the erotic thriller A Bigger Splash, with Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson. The film premiered at the 72nd Venice Film Festival where it was a selection for the main competition.

Guadagnino next directed an adaptation of André Aciman's novel Call Me by Your Name, starring Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg. Filming started in May 2016, and the film debuted at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. It is expected to be widely released later in 2017.

In September 2015, Guadagnino announced at the 72nd Venice Film Festival his plans to direct a remake of Dario Argento's Suspiria, with the four principal actors of A Bigger Splash. Guadagnino will set his version in Berlin circa 1977, the release year of the original film, and in focus on “the concept of motherhood and about the uncompromising force of motherhood.” On 23 November 2015, Guadagnino confirmed that Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson will appear in the movie and that shooting is scheduled to begin in August 2016, with release set in 2017.

In July 2017, it was announced Guadagnino was attached to direct Swan Lake from a screenplay by Kristina Lauren Anderson, with Felicity Jones attached in the lead role. Universal Pictures will distribute.

Other activities

Guadagnino has served twice on the jury of the Torino Film Festival: in 2003 for the Short Film section and in 2006 for the Official Jury. In 2010, he was a member of the Venice Film Festival and in 2011 he served as president of the Beirut Film Festival and on the jury of the Locarno Film Festival.

Outside of film, he began working with the Italian fashion house Fendi in 2005 and in 2012 created Frenesy, a creative agency and production company that conceives and implements communications for luxury brands and produces fashion films, video and print advertising, and high-profile creative events.

Guadagnino headed the jury for Louis Vuitton's Journey Awards in 2012, an international competition dedicated to young filmmakers. He also participated as a jury member in the first edition of Fashion Film Festival Milano in 2014, chaired by Franca Sozzani, chief editor of Vogue Italia.

In December 2011, he made his debut as an opera director with Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Italy.

Filmography

Personal life

Guadagnino is gay. He lives and works in a 17th-century palazzo in the heart of Crema, a city 40 minutes from Milan.