Vincenzo Cerami

Vincenzo Cerami ( born November 2, 1940 in Rome, † July 17, 2013 ) was an Italian writer, playwright and screenwriter.

Life

Vincenzo Cerami was born in 1940, the son of Sicilian parents in Rome. In his youth, he was a talented rugby player before a foot injury forced him to end his sports career. Because of a disease of diphtheria and his shyness he had to repeat his last year of school. He finally began to speak, earned him one of his teacher near Pier Paolo Pasolini and the literature he discovered the poetry and the drama of its own. He then studied physics at the University La Sapienza in Rome and worked during his studies as an assistant director for Pasolini's films.

After graduating, he began writing novels, screenplays and plays. So Cerami was not only as a screenwriter on films such as Escondido, Il Nero - hatred was his prayer and his balls whistle the song of death involved, he frequently collaborated with the Italian comedian and filmmaker Roberto Benigni. His biggest success was the screenplay work on the film drama Life is Beautiful, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay along with Benigni.

On 30 May 2001 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and on 17 May 2005 with the Benemeriti della cultura e dell'arte. In 2013 he was beatified by Benedict XVI. appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Literature.

Cerami was 1970-1986 married to the American actress Mimsy Farmer.

Literary works

Original Works

Translations in German

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Oscar

Chlotrudis Awards

Nastro d' Argento

Golden Raspberry

• 2003: nomination for Worst Screenplay of Pinocchio