Born 1968 in Milan. While studying architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan developed an interest in the relationship between physical spaces and visual imagery, and made installations and short films. His first full-length feature Il Dono (The Gift) (2003) was well received on the international film festival circuit, winning the Grand Prix at the Annecy Italian Film festival, and special jury prize at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. His second feature film Le Quattro Volte (The Four Times) was awarded Best European Film at Cannes. Calabria, southern Italy: nature here is not the backdrop to the story, but a vital member of the cast. This is a drama with no dialogue whatsoever. Instead there are an elderly herdsman, young goats, giant fir trees, and charcoal. The four lives, or times, feed smoothly into the next life, and the circle of rebirth is portrayed. The result is somehow comical, and calls to mind Fischli & Weiss's The Way Things Go (1987) and the Japanese educational TV program Pythagora Switch.

Michelangelo FRAMMATINO　The Four Times　2010 © Zazie Films, Inc.