Biografia
Antonietta De Lillo holds a degree in Arts and Performing Arts Studies from the DAMS program at the University of Bologna. She began her professional career as a photojournalist, working for several Italian daily newspapers and weekly magazines.
In 1985, she co-directed her first feature film, Una casa in bilico, with Giorgio Magliulo. The film won the Silver Ribbon (Nastro d’Argento) for Best Debut Feature. In 1990, she made her second feature film, Matilda, again in collaboration with Magliulo.
Between 1992 and 1999, she directed numerous documentaries and cinematic portraits, including Angelo Novi fotografo di scena, La notte americana del dr. Lucio Fulci, Ogni sedia ha il suo rumore, and Promessi Sposi. These works were selected for and awarded at several international film festivals.
In 1995, she directed Racconti di Vittoria, which received both the FEDIC Award and the Italian Film Critics’ Union Award at the 52nd Venice International Film Festival. This was followed by Maruzzella (1997), an episode of the collective film I Vesuviani, and Non è giusto (2001), presented at the 54th Locarno Film Festival.
In 2004, she directed Il resto di niente, adapted from the historical novel by Enzo Striano. The film was presented as a special event at the Venice International Film Festival and won numerous awards, including three David di Donatello nominations, the Flaiano Prize for Best Screenplay, and five Silver Ribbon nominations.
In 2007, she founded the film production and distribution company marechiarofilm, continuing her earlier production experience with Angio Film and Megaris. Through this company, she conceived and curated Italy’s first participatory film project, Il pranzo di Natale (2011), presented at the 6th Rome International Film Festival.
In 2013, she directed the portrait of poet Alda Merini, La pazza della porta accanto, presented at the 31st Torino Film Festival, followed in 2014 by the documentary Let’s Go, also presented at the Torino Film Festival.
In 2015, she presented her second participatory film, Oggi insieme domani anche, at the 33rd Torino Film Festival. For her work in documentary cinema, she received the 2016 Special Silver Ribbon Award.
In 2017, her medium-length film Il signor Rotpeter was selected for the official program of the 74th Venice International Film Festival. Based on a character by Franz Kafka and starring Marina Confalone, the film earned Confalone a Special Recognition at the 2018 Silver Ribbon Awards.
In 2021, she directed Fulci Talks, a conversational portrait of Lucio Fulci, presented at the 30th Noir in Festival. That same year, her photographic exhibition Ritratti di Cinema, featuring photographs taken during the Venice Film Festivals of 1981 and 1982, was presented at the 78th Venice Film Festival in collaboration with La Biennale Cinema and Giornate degli Autori. Another exhibition, 19:34 - Photographs by Antonietta De Lillo, documenting the 1980 Irpinia earthquake, was also held in November 2021.
In 2023, she completed her autobiographical film L’occhio della gallina, which was released presented at Venice’s Giornate degli Autori; the film was nominated for the 2025 David di Donatello Award for Best Documentary.
