Stefano Sollima (Italian: [ˈstɛːfano ˈsɔllima]; born 4 May 1966) is an Italian director and screenwriter.

Stefano Sollima
Born (1966-05-04) 4 May 1966 (age 58)
Rome, Italy
Occupation(s)Film director, television director, screenwriter
Years active1991–present
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
FatherSergio Sollima

He is best known for his gritty crime-drama films such as ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards (2012), Suburra (2015), and Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018), as well as the television series Romanzo criminale – La serie (2006–2008), Gomorrah (2014–2021), and ZeroZeroZero (2020).

Early life

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Born in Rome, Sollima is the son of Italian cult director and screenwriter Sergio Sollima.[1][2] He started his career as a camera operator realizing numerous reports from war zones for several television networks, including CNN, CBS, and NBC.[2]

Career

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In 1991, he made his debut as a director with the short film Thanks (Italian: Grazie), presented at the Turin Film Festival. His 1993 short film Sotto le unghie was entered at the International Critics' Week section of the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.[3] In 2003, Sollima wrote and directed black-and-white short film Zippo, which was presented in competition at the 2003 Venice Film Festival and at the Sitges Film Festival.[2]

Sollima started working as a television director in 1998 with the soap opera Un posto al sole, before directing episodes of several television series like La squadra (2003–2007), Ho sposato un calciatore (2005), and Crimes (2006–2007). He made his breakout in 2008 thanks to the acclaimed Sky Cinema crime series Romanzo criminale – La serie, based on the 2002 book of the same name by judge Giancarlo De Cataldo.[1][2] Sollima directed all the 22 episodes of the series, which ran for two seasons from 2008 to 2010, winning the Best Television Director award at the 2009 Flaiano International Prizes.[4]

In 2012 Sollima made his feature film debut with the police brutality drama ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards, for which he received a David di Donatello and a Nastro d'Argento nomination for the Best New Director award.[5] From 2014, he served as the main director of Sky Cinema's acclaimed crime-drama series Gomorrah, based on the 2006 non-fiction book of the same name by Roberto Saviano and its previous film adaptation.[1][2] After directing various episodes of the first and the second season of the show, Sollima dropped out of the series in 2016 due to schedule conflicts with his other future projects.[6][7] He then directed the ensemble crime-drama film Suburra (2015), co-produced by Netflix, which brought him another Nastro d'Argento nomination, this time for Best Director.[8] In 2017 the movie was adapted by Netflix into a prequel television series, the first Italian Netflix Original Series.[9]

In 2018, Sollima made his English language film debut with the action crime thriller Sicario: Day of the Soldado, described as an "anthological sequel" to Sicario (2015), starring Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin.[7][10][11]

The same year, he began shooting the internationally co-produced crime TV series ZeroZeroZero,[12] which he also co-created, about global cocaine trade from South America to Europe.[13] Based on Roberto Saviano's non-fiction book of the same name, the show stars Dane DeHaan, Gabriel Byrne and Andrea Riseborough.[14]

Filmography

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Short films

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Year Title Director Writer Notes
1991 Thanks Yes Yes
1992 Ipocrites Yes Yes
1993 Sotto le unghie Yes Yes
2003 Zippo Yes Yes
2018 The Legend of Red Hand Yes No Promoting Campari

Feature films

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Television

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Year Title Director Writer Notes
1999 Un posto al sole Yes No Unknown episodes
2003–2007 La squadra Yes No 7 episodes
2005 Ho sposato un calciatore Yes No 4 episodes
2006–2007 Crimes Yes No 3 episodes
2008–2010 Romanzo criminale – La serie Yes No 22 episodes
2009 Mal'aria No Yes Television film
2014–2016 Gomorrah Yes No 10 episodes
2020 ZeroZeroZero Yes Yes 2 episodes, also creator[12]

Music videos

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Title Result
1992 Turin Film Festival Prize of the City of Torino Thanks Nominated
1993 Turin Film Festival Best Short Film Sotto le unghie Nominated
Cannes Film Festival Canal+ Award Nominated
2003 Venice Film Festival Best Short Film Zippo Nominated
Catalonian International Film Festival Best Short Film Nominated
2009 Flaiano International Prizes Best Television Director Romanzo criminale – La serie Won
2012 Moscow International Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards Won
Russian Film Critics Award Won
Russian Film Clubs Federation Award Won
Golden St. George Nominated
David di Donatello Best New Director Nominated
Nastro d'Argento Best New Director Nominated
Kineo Awards Best First Feature Nominated
2013 Golden Graal Best Director — Drama Nominated
2016 Nastro d'Argento Best Director Suburra Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b c Andrea Di Quarto (17 June 2015). "Gomorra 2, parla il regista Stefano Sollima" [Gomorrah Director Stefano Sollima On Season 2]. TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Secchi Frau, Fabio. "Stefano Sollima". Mymovies.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  3. ^ "32e Selecion de la Semaine de la Critique - 1993". archives.semainedelacritique.com. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Vincitori Premi internazionali Flaiano 2009". Premi internazionali Flaiano (in Italian). Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  5. ^ Alberto del Giudice (13 April 2012). "David di Donatello 2012, Giordana, Moretti e Sorrentino i favoriti". GQ (in Italian). Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  6. ^ Silvia Fumarola (12 May 2015). "Ritorno a Gomorra, sul set della seconda serie: è il momento delle signore della camorra". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b Jacob Stolworthy (14 June 2016). "Stefano Sollima interview: Sicario 'sequel' Soldado will be a different journey in the same world'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Sorpresa David: pieno di nomination Jeeg Robot e Non essere cattivo". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Suburra, la nuova serie tv arriva il 6 ottobre - Wired". Wired (in Italian). 13 July 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  10. ^ Chitwood, Adam; Radish, Christina (26 November 2016). "'Sicario' Sequel 'Soldado' Story Details Teased by Jeffery Donovan". Collider.com. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Sony Dates 'Silver And Black', 'Sicario 2'; Moves 'Holmes And Watson', 'Bad Boys 3' Unset & More". Deadline Hollywood. 11 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b Silvia Fumarola (20 April 2018). "ZeroZeroZero, per Sollima primo ciak in Messico" [ZeroZeroZero, Sollima starts filming in Mexico]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  13. ^ Nick Vivarelli (9 October 2017). "Cocaine Trafficking Show 'ZeroZeroZero' Goes Into Production With 'Gomorrah' Director (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  14. ^ Stewart Clarke (20 April 2018). "Gabriel Byrne, Andrea Riseborough, Amazon Board Cocaine Drama 'ZeroZeroZero'". Variety. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  15. ^ Ang (7 September 2022). "'Adagio' di Sollima distribuito da Vision". Cinecittà News (in Italian).
  16. ^ "Will Smith Action Pic 'Sugar Bandits' Seals Big Deals Around The World Ahead Of Planned September Start — Cannes Market". deadline.
  17. ^ "Argentero nel video di Francesca (X-Factor)" [X-Factor: Luca Argentero in Francesca's Music Video]. ANSA (in Italian). 24 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
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