Abel Ferrara

Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker, actor and musician. Closely associated with the independent film movement in the United States, he is known for his provocative and often-controversial films which use and redefine neo-noir imagery. His best-known works include the New York-set, gritty crime thrillers The Driller Killer (1979), Ms .45 (1981), Fear City (1984), King of New York (1990), Bad Lieutenant (1992), and The Funeral (1996), chronicling violent crime in urban settings with spiritual overtones.

He has worked in a wide array of genres, including the sci-fi horror film Body Snatchers (1993), the cyberpunk thriller New Rose Hotel (1998), the religious drama Mary (2005), the black comedy Go Go Tales (2007), and the biopics Pasolini (2014) and Padre Pio (2022), as well as several documentary projects. Since 2001, he has worked predominantly in Europe.

Ferrara has received several accolades throughout his career. He has been twice nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director. Six of his films have been nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and he has been twice nominated for the Golden Bear and once for the Palme d'Or. In 2004, Ferrara received the Premi Flaiano for Cinema.