ABEL FERRARA
The Director

Born in the Bronx in 1951, Abel Ferrara started shooting in Super 8 when he was a teenager, filming the streets of New York, especially the tougher neighbourhoods.  His debut on the big screen was in 1979 with THE DRILLER KILLER. In this film Ferrara is also the protagonist, a young painter from New York who becomes crazy and violent.  In 1981, Ferrara created the character of a young blind woman who decides to take revenge on her aggressors after they rape her in MS. 45.  In CHINA GIRL (1987), Ferrara tells the story of an impossible love that takes place amongst ethnic conflicts between different gangs in Manhattan.  Throughout the years, Abel Ferrara has created an image of himself as a truly American auteur with a pessimistic vision of his country.  Towards the end of the 1980’s, Ferrara directed various episodes of MIAMI VICE, two other films for Tv, THE GLADIATOR and CRIME STORY. In 1990 he jumped into the international spotlight with his bloody thriller, KING OF NEW YORK, interpreted magically by Christopher Walken, who plays a drug lord. 

THE BAD LIEUTENANT, with Harvey Keitel as a corrupt police officer looking for redemption, and BODY SNATCHERS (a paranoid remake of the science fiction film INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) as well as DANGEROUS GAME, in which Madonna plays a movie star who battles her tyrannical director, were all realized immediately after.  Ferrara’s films, out of the ordinary and profoundly strange, show us a tough world apparently without hope.
In 1985, THE ADDICTION, a film shot in black and white about vampires and including in the cast Christopher Walken, Lili Taylor, and Annabella Sciorra,  won the top award at the Sundance Film Festival.  The next year, THE FUNERAL, with Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Isabella Rossellini, Vincent Gallo, and Benicio Del Toro took the public into the world of a violent and oppressive mafia family.  This intense film was followed in 1997 with BLACKOUT with Claudia Schiffer, Beatrice Dalle, and Matthew Modine, and is about a story between an actor and two women caught up in sex, drugs, and excessive alcohol.  In 1998, Ferrara once again directed Christopher Walken in NEW ROSE HOTEL, a psychological thriller including cast members Asia Argento and Willem Dafoe.  In 2001.
‘R XMAS was shot, telling the story of a Christmas spent with immigrants transporting drugs.  For MARY Abel once again put together a stellar cast, remaining true to themes that have always characterized him as a director.

Selected Filmography
MARY (2005); ‘R XMAS (2001); NEW ROSE HOTEL (1998); THE BLACKOUT (1997); THE FUNERAL (1996); THE ADDICTION (1995); DANGEROUS GAME (1993); BODY SNATCHERS ((1993); THE BAD LIEUTENANT (1992); KING OF NEW YORK (1990); CAT CHASER (1989); CHINA GIRL (1987); FEAR CITY (1984); MS. 45 (1981); THE DRILLER KILLER (1979);

Venice Film Festival

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Abel Ferrara accepting the Grand Jury Prize at the
Venice Film Festival 2005 for his latest film "Mary"

Cannes Film Festival
2001 R XMAS Director Un certain regard
             Screenplay
1997 THE BLACKOUT Director Hors compétition
             Script and Dialogue
1993 BODY SNATCHERS Director En compétition
1992 BAD LIEUTENANT Director Un certain regard
             Script and Dialogue