Alice Rohrwacher (, ; born 29 December 1981) is an Italian film director, editor, and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with '' Heavenly Body'' (2011). She has since directed notable films such as '' The Wonders'' (2014), winner of the Grand Prix; '' Happy as Lazzaro'' (2018), which she also wrote and which received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay; and '' La chimera'' (2023). Her short '' Le pupille'' (2022) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

Early life

Rohrwacher was born in

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, to an Italian mother and German father. She lived as a youth in the village of Castel Giorgio,

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, where her mother was born and her father Reinhard worked as a

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping. The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees in beehives, boxes, or other receptacles. The beekeeper does not control the creatures. The beekeeper ow ...

. Her older sister is

Alba Rohrwacher Alba Caterina Rohrwacher (, ; born 27 February 1979) is an Italian-German actress. Early life Alba Rohrwacher was born in Florence to a German father and an Italian mother. From the age of 17 to 21 she studied medicine, intending to be a doctor ...

, who became an actress in Italy. After studying Classics at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

, she specialized in screenwriting at the Holden School in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Career

Her first experience in filmmaking was in 2006, when she directed a part of the Italian documentary ''Checosamanca''. In 2011, she directed her first feature film, '' Heavenly Body'', which premiered at the Directors' Fortnight during the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition. American filmmaker Terrence Malick won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for t ...

to critical acclaim. Her second feature film, '' The Wonders'', won the Grand Prix at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Also in 2014, Rohrwacher was appointed the President of the International Jury for the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. She announced filming of her third work, '' Lazzaro Felice'' in 2017; the film starred Sergi López and Rohrwacher's sister

. The film premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Screenplay, which Rohrwacher wrote. It was released by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in December of that year. In June 2018, Rohrwacher was invited to become a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. Rohrwacher was invited to serve on the jury at the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president for the main competition. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won the , the festival's top prize, fo ...

. In 2023, she was nominated together with

Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( ; ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. List of awards and nominations received by Alfonso Cuarón, His accolades include four Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and seven BAFTA Awards. Cuarón made h ...

for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for their short '' Le pupille'' (2022); the award was won by '' An Irish Goodbye''. Her feature film '' La chimera'' (2023), starring Josh O'Connor and

Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (; born 18 June 1952) is an Italian actress and model. The daughter of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted for her successful tenure as a Lancôme ...

, premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. It was selected to compete for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

. In 2024, Rohrwacher co-directed with JR the short film '' An Urban Allegory'', which will make its world premiere out of competition at the

81st Venice International Film Festival The 81st annual Venice Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2024, at Venice Lido in Italy. French actress Isabelle Huppert served as Jury President for the main competition. Italian actress an ...

. In 2025, Rohrwacher presided as the Jury President for the

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...

of the

2025 Cannes Film Festival The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2025. French actress Juliette Binoche served as jury president for the main competition. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama ...

Style

Bong Joon-ho described her work as "a mix of magic realism and neorealism, innocent characters butting up against corrupt behemoths".

Favorite films

In 2022, Rohrwacher listed her 10 favorite films in a '' Sight & Sound'' poll. *'' Strike'' (1925) *'' Miracle in Milan'' (1951) *'' Vagabond'' (1985) *'' La Terra vista dalla Luna'' (1967) *'' Nights of Cabiria'' (1957) *'' Getting to Know the Big, Wide World'' (1980) *'' The Color of Pomegranates'' (1969) *'' Tale of Tales'' (1979) *''The Blue Planet'' (1981) *''

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

'' (2011)

Filmography

Feature films

Documentaries

Short films

Other work

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohrwacher, Alice 1981 births Living people Italian film directors Italian screenwriters Italian women film directors Italian people of German descent Italian women screenwriters People from Fiesole University of Turin alumni Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners