Lina Wertmüller

Lina Wertmuller (born in Rome August 14, 1928, died December 8, 2021) made her directorial debut with The Lizards (I basilischi 1963). She directed Giancarlo Giannini in The Seduction of Mimi (Mimi metallurgico ferito nell’onore 1972), Love and Anarchy (Film d’amore e anarchia,1973), Swept Away (Travolto da un insolito destino nel’azzurro mare di agosto 1974), A Night Full of Rain (La fine del mondo nel nostro solito letto in una notte piena di pioggia 1978) and Seven Beauties (Pascualino Settebellezze 1976). This movie earned her three Academy Award nominations for best director, best screenplay, best foreign film, a fourth nomination as best actor for Giannini, and a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign film. She then directed Blood Feud (Fatto di sangue fra due uomini per causa di una vedova, si sospettano moventi politici 1978),  A Joke of Destiny (Scherzo del destino in agguato dietro l’angolo come un brigante da strada 1983) with Ugo Tognazzi, Camorra, A Story of Streets, Women and Crime (Un complicato intrigo di donne, violi e delitti 1986), Ciao, Professore (Io speriamo che me la cavo 1992) with Paolo Villaggio, Ferdinando and Carolina (Ferdinando e Carolina 1999), Too Much Romance… It’s Time for Stuffed Peppers (Peperoni ripieni e pesci in faccia, 2004) with Sofia Loren.

In 2019 Wertmüller received an honorary Oscar.