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
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 ...
. 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
Further reading
* Nicholas Albanese, 'Bodies in space: Emplacement in Alice Rohrwacher's ''Corpo celeste''
', in ''The Italianist'', 37:2 (2017), pp. 228-242.
* Silvia Angeli, 'From the margins: Alice Rohrwacher's liminal adolescents', in ''Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies'', 8:3 (2019), pp. 339-356.
* Laura Di Bianco, 'Ecocinema ''Ars et Praxis'': Alice Rohrwacher's ''Lazzaro felice''
', in ''The Italianist'', 40:2 (2020), pp. 151-164.
* Roberto Interdonato, 'A different spirituality: On Lazzaro's symbolic potency in Alice Rohrwacher's ''Happy as Lazzaro''
', in ''Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies'', 11:1 (2023), pp. 145-161.
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