Marco Bellocchio

Marco Bellocchio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko belˈlɔkkjo]; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing. He embarked on philosophy studies in Milan but later chose the path of film and attended a number of renowned film schools. His directorial debut came with Fists in the Pocket, which won the Silver Sail at the 1965 Festival del film Locarno. Some of his noteworthy works include China Is Near, Slap the Monster on Page One, Victory March, A Leap in the Dark, My Mother's Smile, which told the story of a wealthy Italian artist, and his controversial film about a high-profile euthanasia case. He was awarded with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 68th Venice International Film Festival.

In his early career, Bellocchio made a significant impact on radical Italian cinema, and in the late 1960s, he joined the Union of Italian Communists, a Maoist group, and began to make politically militant cinema. However, he expressed disillusionment with the state of left politics in Italy in later interviews. He ran for Italian Parliament in 2006 on the Rose in the Fist list, a political alliance of socialists and Italian Radicals. He is openly atheist. In his personal life, the suicide of his twin brother, Camillo, in 1969 had a profound impact on Bellocchio's life. He has three children with actress Gisella Burinato and editor Francesca Calvelli, the latter being his current partner.