Abel Ferrara

Life and career

Early years

Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent. He was raised Catholic, which influenced much of his work. At 8 years old, he moved to Peekskill in Westchester County, New York and he started making movies at Rockland Community College. Later, he attended the film conservatory at SUNY Purchase, where he directed several short films.

Early work 1971–1981

Ferrara studied at the San Francisco Art Institute; one of his teachers and influences there was the famous avant-garde director Rosa von Praunheim. In the early 1970s, while still in art school, Ferrara directed a number of independently produced short films which included The Hold Up and Could This Be Love. Finding himself out of work after leaving film school in 1976, Ferrara directed his first feature: a pornographic film titled 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy, using a pseudonym. Starring with his then-girlfriend, he recalled having to step in front of the camera for one scene to perform in a hardcore sex scene: "It's bad enough paying a guy $200 to fuck your girlfriend, then he can't get it up."

Ferrara first drew a cult following with his second feature film, an exploitation movie titled The Driller Killer (1979), an urban slasher film about an artist (played by the director himself) who goes on a killing spree with a power drill. In the United Kingdom, the movie made it on a list of "video nasties" created by moral crusaders that led to prosecutions under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and to the passing of new legislation which forced all video releases to appear before the British Board of Film Classification for rating.

The director's next feature was Ms .45 (1981), a "rape revenge" movie about a mute garment worker turned vigilante (Zoë Tamerlis). Reviewers called it "a provocative, disreputable movie, well worth seeing".

Rise to international fame 1984–1998

In 1984, Ferrara was hired to direct Fear City, starring Melanie Griffith, Billy Dee Williams, Rae Dawn Chong and María Conchita Alonso. When a "kung fu slasher" stalks and murders young women who work in a seedy Times Square strip club, a disgraced boxer portrayed by Tom Berenger uses his fighting skills to defeat the killer.

Ferrara worked on two Michael Mann-produced television series, directing the two-hour pilot for Crime Story (aired September 18, 1986), starring Dennis Farina, and two episodes of the series Miami Vice.

King of New York (1990) stars Christopher Walken as gangster Frank White, Laurence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes, David Caruso and Giancarlo Esposito. The movie received overall mixed reviews, but Ferrara was praised for his strong command of mood and style. Critic Roger Ebert wrote, "What Ferrara needs for his next film is a sound screenplay."

Bad Lieutenant (1992) credits Ferrara and actress Zoë Tamerlis, who plays the woman who helps the Lieutenant freebase heroin in the movie, as co-writers of the script, but Tamerlis claimed that she wrote it alone. Bad Lieutenant received Spirit Awards nominations for Best Director and Best Actor, and despite its controversial content, the movie was lauded by critics. Director Martin Scorsese named it one of his top 10 films of the 1990s.

In 1993, Ferrara was hired for two Hollywood studio movies: another remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, titled Body Snatchers (1993), for Warner Bros.; and Dangerous Game (1993), starring Keitel and Madonna, for MGM.

In the mid-1990s Ferrara directed two well-received independent movies: The Addiction (1995), photographed in black-and-white, stars Lili Taylor as a philosophy student who succumbs to a vampire as she studies the problem of evil and philosophical pedagogy, represented by the most violent events of the 20th century. The movie also features Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Kathryn Erbe and Michael Imperioli. It was co-produced by Russell Simmons.

The Funeral (1996), starring Walken, Sciorra, Chris Penn, Isabella Rossellini, Benicio del Toro, Vincent Gallo and Gretchen Mol, was nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards including Best Director.

Following the success of The Funeral, Ferrara had an infamous interview with Conan O'Brien on October 23, 1996. Ferrara was believed to be intoxicated and struggled through the interview, often slurring and covering his face as well as waving around a cigarette. O'Brien would later state that Ferrara was his "worst guest ever". Eventually, O'Brien revealed to Ferrara's frequent collaborator Willem Dafoe that Ferrara "ran away" and that the segment producer had to "run down the street" to catch him and bring him back to the set. Dafoe said to O'Brien, "You did your best ... and so did he!"

After making The Blackout (1997) with Matthew Modine and Dennis Hopper, he contributed to the omnibus television movie Subway Stories. Ferrara then made New Rose Hotel (1998), which reunited him with Christopher Walken.

Move to Europe 2001–present

Ferrara returned three years later with 'R Xmas (2001), which starred Drea de Matteo and Ice-T. He recorded commentaries for Driller Killer and King of New York and made Mary (2005), a religious-themed multi-plot movie starring Juliette Binoche, Matthew Modine, Forest Whitaker, Heather Graham, Marion Cotillard, and Stefania Rocca. Mary premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2005. It swept the awards ceremony, garnering the Grand Jury Prize, SIGNIS Award and two others. It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2007, Ferrara directed Go Go Tales a comedy with Modine, Bob Hoskins and Willem Dafoe that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival but was not shown in the United States until a special screening at the Anthology Film Archives in 2011.

In 2009, Jekyll and Hyde was set to star Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent. After disagreements with Warner Bros., the movie was shelved in 2010.

In 2009, Napoli, Napoli, Napoli premiered out of competition at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. The docudrama received little attention and poor reviews but Werner Herzog's reboot Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans was selected for competition at the prestigious festival. Asked about the Herzog film, Ferrara was quoted widely saying "I wish these people die in hell".

In September 2011, 4:44 Last Day on Earth, starring Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh, premiered at the main competition of the 68th Venice International Film Festival.

Ferrara's Welcome to New York, a fictionalized version of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case starring Gérard Depardieu and Jacqueline Bisset, was released on video on demand in 2014. Ferrara's Pasolini (2014) about the titular Italian director stars Willem Dafoe.

After a 4-year long hiatus, Ferrara came back in 2019 with Tommaso, a new feature starring Dafoe and set in Rome. The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2019. It was released in the United States by Kino Lorber.

The following year, with Siberia (2020), Ferrara and Dafoe collaborated for the sixth time. Inspired by Carl Jung's The Red Book, the script was written by Ferrara and Chris Zois. The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, on 24 February 2020. It was released in the United States by Lionsgate in 2021. Shortly after Ferrara directed the documentary Sportin' Life, about the beginning of quarantine measures in Europe a few days after the Berlinale premiere of Siberia, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentary had its world premiere at the 77th Venice Film Festival on 4 September 2020.

Since 2020 he has interpreted Gabriele Tinti's poetry giving voice to the masterpieces in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Pinacoteca di Brera, Museo Nazionale di San Marco, Ca' d'Oro, Musée Jacquemart-André and Museo Nazionale Romano

In August 2021, Zeros and Ones, starring Ethan Hawke, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 74th Locarno Film Festival, during the festival Ferrara won the Best Direction Award. The film was released in limited theaters and on demand by Lionsgate on November 19, 2021.

In 2022, Ferrara's Padre Pio, starring Shia LaBeouf and Asia Argento, premiered at the "Giornate degli Autori" section of the 79th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2022. The film was released in the United States by Gravitas Ventures on June 2, 2023. During the film's production, LeBeouf notably converted to Catholicism.

Personal life

Ferrara was formerly domestic partners with the actress Cristina Chiriac, with whom he remains on friendly terms and shares a daughter, Anna. He was previously married to Nancy Ferrara. Ferrara has two adopted children: Endira and Lucy. He was also in a romantic relationship with actress Shanyn Leigh.

Ferrara lives in Rome, Italy in an apartment overlooking the Piazza Vittorio, a location that was the subject of his 2017 documentary Piazza Vittorio. He moved to the city following the 9/11 attacks because he said he wanted to get away from New York City and found it easier to secure financing for his movies in Europe.

Raised Catholic, Ferrara started describing himself as Buddhist in 2007. When asked if he had converted, Ferrara responded,

Ferrara said in 2020 that Buddhism "is a practice for me, not a religion". In 2022, he stated he considered Padre Pio his "spirituality model".

Influences

Influences on Ferrara's work include "the Stones and Dylan ... DaVinci, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen and all of the great New York film makers". He has also credited Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rainer Werner Fassbinder as influences.

Filmography

Feature films

Acting roles

Documentary films

Television

Television films

Music video

Short film

Recurring collaborators

Ferrara has recast many of the same actors in his movies, most notably Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Willem Dafoe. Other actors he has recast include Annabella Sciorra and Matthew Modine as well as character actors such as Victor Argo, Paul Calderón and Giancarlo Esposito. David Caruso is another one of Ferrara's frequent film collaborators. Ms .45 (1981) star Zoë Lund collaborated with Ferrara again on Bad Lieutenant (1992), which she co-wrote. Gretchen Mol has worked with Ferrara twice. Forest Whitaker starred in Ferrara's movies Mary (2005) and Body Snatchers (1993).

Beginning with The Driller Killer in 1979 through The Projectionist in 2019, Ferrara most frequently worked with Ken Kelsch as his cinematographer.

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Nicole Brenez, [https://books.google.com/books?id=k8iLpYdw6mMC&dq=nicholas+st+john+abel+ferrara+high+school&pg=PA2 ''Abel Ferrara''], University of Illinois Press, 2007 page 2
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3. Lim, Dennis. (2008-10-12). "Struggling With Faith and Gentrification". The New York Times.
4. "'Bad Lieutenant' filmmaker Abel Ferrara got his start at Rockland Community College".
5. Dawson, Nick. (October 18, 2008). "Abel Ferrara, Mary".
6. "Seven nights with Abel Ferrara". American Cinematheque.
7. (9 March 2009). "The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films: An Historical Survey". McFarland.
8. (5 August 2010). "Abel Ferrara: 'I made Scarface look like Mary Poppins'". The Guardian.
9. "Video Nasties". British Board of Film Classification.
10. (2015-08-22). "Ms .45 (2015), directed by Abel Ferrara {{!}} Film review".
11. "Fear City (1984)". [[Rotten Tomatoes]].
12. "Crime Story. 1986. Directed by Abel Ferrara".
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14. Ebert, Roger. "King Of New York Movie Review (1990)".
15. (April 30, 2009). "Zoe Tamerlis on the script of "Bad Lieutenant"".
16. (2017-11-20). "13 Great Facts About Bad Lieutenant".
17. link. (April 14, 2010 . Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.)
18. "The Addiction (1995): Awards".
19. "The Funeral (1996)".
20. (December 3, 2018). "Conan O'Brien Names Director Abel Ferrara His Worst Guest in 25 Years — Here's Why".
21. Righelato, Rowan. (30 November 2016). "The Driller Killer and the humanist behind the blood and sickening crunch".
22. Mackie, Rob. (18 September 2008). "DVD review: King of New York SE".
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29. Child, Ben. (February 6, 2012). "Gerard Depardieu to star in film inspired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn". The Guardian.
30. (March 28, 2014). "Director Abel Ferrara on Mysterious 1975 Death of Pier Paolo Pasolini: 'I Know Who Killed Him'". The Hollywood Reporter.
31. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (14 May 2015). "He's Back! Abel Ferrara To Launch Willem Dafoe-Starrer 'Siberia' On Croisette".
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34. (2021-02-11). "Abel Ferrara reads Gabriele Tinti's poems at the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan".
35. "Abel Ferrara reads Gabriele Tinti's poems".
36. Kiang, Jessica. (2021-08-14). "Golden Leopard Winner 'Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' Heads Impressive Slate Of Locarno Awards".
37. Vadukul, Alex. (January 7, 2026). "In Rome, They Call Him ‘Maestro’".
38. Maslin, Janet. (19 November 1993). "Review/Film; A Movie Within a Movie, With a Demure Madonna". [[The New York Times]].
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41. Macnab, Geoffrey. (3 March 2012). "Willem Dafoe: 'I have a charmed life'". [[The Independent]].
42. Hoberman, J.. (19 March 2012). "Home for the End of Days". [[New York (magazine).
43. Vadukul, Alex. (January 7, 2026). "In Rome, They Call Him ‘Maestro’".
44. Lim, Dennis. (10 October 2008). "Struggling With Faith and Gentrification". [[The New York Times]].
45. Shoard, Catherine. (23 May 2014). "Abel Ferrara at Cannes: 'You gotta be careful what you say ... but I'm not'". [[The Guardian]].
46. (12 November 2014). "The spiritual side of Abel Ferrara".
47. Bukuras, Joe. (August 30, 2022). "From porn to 'Padre Pio': Meet the director who felt drawn to tell the saint's story".
48. Solero, Elettra. (November 18, 2022). "Abel Ferrara: Padre Pio è il mio modello di spiritualità".
49. "Abel Ferrara Interview".
50. cryptekeeper. (3 December 2012). "Cryptekeeper 041 Abel Ferrara/4H44 dernier jour sur terre".
51. Kasman, Daniel. (7 June 2014). "The Pursuit of Freedom: Abel Ferrara Discusses "Welcome to New York"".
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53. Hopewell, John. (August 16, 2013). "Ferrara, Dafoe Re-team for 'Pasolini'". [[Variety (magazine).
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55. Cox, Gordon. (23 August 2017). "Vanessa Redgrave, Alex Gibney, Griffin Dunne Documentaries Join New York Film Festival Slate (EXCLUSIVE)".
56. Murthi, Vikram. (19 December 2016). "Isabelle Huppert, Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe Star in Abel Ferrara's New Film 'Siberia'".
57. Bramesco, Charles. (23 April 2019). "The Projectionist review – Abel Ferrara's wistful, indulgent ode to cinema". The Guardian.
58. Tartaglione, Nancy. (July 28, 2020). "Venice Film Festival 2020: Competition Light On Studios, Strong On Global Arthouse & Women Directors – Full List".
59. Ruilova, Aïda. (February 13, 2013). "Abel Ferrara". [[Interview (magazine).
60. Dee, Jake. (7 January 2014). "Dissecting Director Abel Ferrara!".
61. (24 February 2010). "Indie Filmmaker Abel Ferrara Will Bring Short Eyes Back to Broadway".
62. Vestby, Ethan. (9 December 2013). "Abel Ferrara On Artistic Freedom, Collaboration, 'Ms. 45,' Pier Paolo Pasolini & More".
63. Hillis, Aaron. (26 February 2009). "Gretchen Mol Indulges in "An American Affair"". [[Ifc.com]].
64. Nastasi, Alison. (19 November 2009). "Abel Ferrara's 'Jekyll and Hyde' Coming Soon From Warner Bros.".
65. Louison, Evan. (May 22, 2019). ""Filmmaking is Like Combat — 90% Boredom, 5% Panic and 5% Terror": Ken Kelsch on Four Decades as a Cinematographer".
66. "1998 (novena edición) : Los Catacric y los YoGa".