Trivia

Speaks three languages: Italian, English and French.

His father is Italian and his mother is Algerian.

He was born in Palermo but spent his childhood in Ethiopia. He and his family went back to Italy in 1977, when Haile Mariam Mengistu took power.

Has directed Tilda Swinton in five productions: The Protagonists (1999), Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory (2002), I Am Love (2009), A Bigger Splash (2015) and Suspiria (2018). Swinton also helped him to create the concept of the short film Here (2012).

Directed one Oscar nominated performance: Timothée Chalamet.

Has worked with editor Walter Fasano in 12 productions: Qui (1997), The Protagonists (1999), L'uomo risacca (2000), Mundo Civilizado (2003), Melissa P. (2005), I Am Love (2009), Chronology (2010), Destinée (2012), Bertolucci on Bertolucci (2013), A Bigger Splash (2015), Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Suspiria (2018).

Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 67th Venice International Film Festival in 2010.

He has never learned how to swim.

Started shooting Suspiria (2018) only four months after wrapping filming Call Me by Your Name (2017) in 2016.

He has worked with the two leading actors of the Dune franchise: Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Kyle MacLachlan in The Staggering Girl (2019).