THE CONFORMIST

Internationally acclaimed Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci was born in Parma in 1940 and originally aspired to be a poet. He studied modern literature at the University of Rome and at the same time started working in film as an assistant director on Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Accattone. His film The Last Emperor earned him a total of nine Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Previously, he was also nominated for Best Director for the controversial but commercially successful Last Tango in Paris, and Best Adapted Screenplay for The Conformist. In 2007, he received an honorary Golden Lion Award at the Venice FF.