ARCHIBUGI, FRANCESCA

(I960-)

Actress, screenwriter, director. One of the most prominent of the young Italian directors who emerged in the late 1980s, Archibugi studied at theCentro Sperimentale di Cinematografiabefore also attendingErmanno Olmi's

film school, Ipotesi Cinema, where she made a number of short films, among themIl sogno truffato(The Betrayed Dream, 1984). After appearing in a small supporting role inGiuseppe Bertolucci'sSegreti segreti(Secrets Secrets, 1985) and honing her screenwriting skills on Bruno Cortini'sL'estate sta finendo(Summer Is Ending, 1987), she wrote and directed her first feature,Mignon e partita(Mignon Has Come to Stay, 1988).An affectionate and moving story of male adolescence and first love, the film proved to be something of a revelation, winning sixDavid di Donatelloawards, including Best New Director, and twoNastri d'argento. Archibugi's next feature,Verso sera(Towards Evening, 1990), highlighting the generation gap that had opened up in Italy with the social upheavals of the 1970s, also won the David for Best Film, as did her third feature,II grande cocomero(The Great Pumpkin, 1993), a film that centered on the treatment of a young girl with epilepsy and was inspired by the alternative psychiatric practices of Marco Lombardo Radice.Con gli occhi chiusi(With Closed Eyes, 1994), an elegant adaptation of a novel by 19th-century writer Federico Tozzi, was less warmly received, butL'albero delle pere(Shooting the Moon, 1998), which tackled the complex problem of drug addiction with great sensitivity, was nominated for the Golden Lion at theVenice Festivaland awarded the prize of the Office Catholique International du Cinema. After exploring the shattered lives of people caught up in the 1997 Umbria earth-quake inDomani(Tomorrow, 2000), Archibugi provided an interesting variation on Alessandro Manzoni's 19th-century novel in the television miniseriesRenzo e Lucia(2004). She returned to the big screen withLezioni di volo(Flying Lessons, 2006), another contemporary generational film, this time set in India.