Director and screenwriter, Mario Martone was born in Italy, in 1959. Martone began his career in the theatre and was one of the co-founders of the Neapolitan contemporary avant-garde group Falso Movimento, in 1977. Interested in the dialogue between different artistic expressions, early in his career, Martone naturally undertook the transition to cinema in the 1990s, and was associated with a new wave of Napolitan directors, along the names of Pappi Corsicato and Paolo Sorrentino. Through films like Rehearsals for War (1998) or the historical fresco We Believed (2010), Martone questioned the place of violence and art in society. His first feature-film, Morte di un Matematico Napoletano, was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1992. In addition to his work in theater and cinema, he made his debut as an opera director in 1989, with the world premiere of Charlotte Corday, by Lorenzo Ferrero. All these credits only prove Martone’s eclectic and commendable career. This will be his third appearance at LEFFEST: in 2018, the festival dedicated a tribute to his oeuvre and, in 2022, Nostalgia was screened in the Official Selection in Competition.
