Paolo Sorrentino, born 31 May 1970), is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film The Great Beauty won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Italy he was honoured with eight David di Donatello and six Nastro d’Argento.
Sorrentino’s direction and screenplays, including Il divo, The Consequences of Love, The Family Friend, This Must Be the Place and the 2016 TV series The Young Pope, have received three Cannes Lions, four Venice Film Festival Awards and four European Film Awards.
He works with authors and producers including Francesca Cima and Nicola Giuliano, Toni Servillo and Luca Bigazzi. Actors in his films have included Sabrina Ferilli, Fanny Ardant, Isabella Ferrari, Elena Sofia Ricci, Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Riccardo Scamarcio, Jude Law, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Nanni Moretti, Filippo Scotti, Carlo Verdone, Antonio Albanese and Frank Langella.
He has also worked with songwriters Antonello Venditti, Paloma Faith and Mark Kozelek and written three books published in Italian.