GIFFONI50PLUS - 21.31 JULY 2021

TERESA SAPONANGELO

JULY 23

Biography

Photo Credit:  Azzurra Primavera

Born in Taranto, she graduated in Performing arts from the University of Roma Tre. She attended P. Amato’s three-year theatre training course, and made her debut in 1989 with Lu cunto de li cunti (The tales of tales), directed by Amato himself. She continued her stage career by performing in a large number of productions under the guidance of great directors such as Binasco, Capuano, Martone and Servillo. Her most recent works include Sogno d'Autunno (Autumn Dream) by Valerio Binasco – Turin, Teatro Stabile; Le Serve (The Servants) by Antonio Capuano – Naples, Sannazaro Theatre; Tossine (Toxins), written by Tony Laudadio and directed by Monica Nappo – Naples, Teatro Stabile.

Her debut in cinema was in 1995 with the film Il verificatore (The verifier) by Stefano Incerti; in the same year, she was part of the cast of Paolo Virzì’s Ferie d’Agosto (August Vacation). In 1996, she made her radio debut with Serata in onore di Vittorio Gassman (An evening in honour of Vittorio Gassman), which was organised as part of the Progetto Ronconi - Teatro alla radio (Ronconi Project - Theatre on the radio).

1998 saw her debut on television with Anna Di Francisca’s Un medico in famiglia (A doctor in the family). She then starred in many other TV series and films such as Riccardo Milani’s La omicidi (Homicide Squad), Kristoph Tassin and Samad Zarmandili’s Squadra Antimafia (Anti-mafia Squad), Carmine Elia’s La Dama Velata (The Veiled Lady), Maurizio Zaccaro’s Il Sindaco Pescatore (The Fisherman Mayor), Davide Marengo’s Sirene (Mermaids), Fabrizio Costa’s Basta un paio di baffi (It just takes a moustache), Pappi Corsicato’s Vivi e lascia vivere (Live and let live) and, in 2021, Alessandro Angelini’s Vincenzo Malinconico, Avvocato (Vincenzo Malinconico, Lawyer).

As for cinema, in 1999 she starred in Sergio Rubini’s Tutto l’amore che c’è (All the love there is); the film was followed by many other projects, including Nicola De Rinaldo’s La vita degli altri (The lives of others), Johannes Brunner’s Oktoberfest, Valia Santella’s Te lo leggo negli occhi (I can see it in your eyes) -which brought her a nomination at the Nastri d'Argento for Best Actress in a Leading role-, Silvio Soldini’s Cosa voglio di più (Come undone), Ascanio Celestini’s La pecora nera (Black sheep),  Pippo Mezzapesa’s Il paese delle spose infelici (Annalisa), Gianfranco Cabiddu’s La stoffa dei sogni (The stuff of dreams), Antonio Capuano’s Polvere di Napoli (The dust of Naples), Pippo Mezzapesa’s Il bene mio (My own good) and Jenneke Boeijink’s Porselein. She played the main character in Il buco in testa (A hole in the head), directed by Antonio Capuano, which was presented at the 38th Turin Film Festival in 2020 and earned her the 2021 Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Along with the Nastro d'Argento in 2021, she was awarded numerous other distinctions, including the  1998 Sacher d'Oro as “best supporting actress” for Capuano's film Polvere di Napoli and the 2000 Ubu Award for her performance as Dorina in Molière’s Tartuffe, directed by Servillo.

In 2003, she founded Tournesol, an association aimed at realising her projects.