Originally from Turkey, director Ferzan Ozpetek, now an Italian citizen, has changed Italy forever.
Ozpetek, famous for his big, star-studded ensemble casts, has almost single-handedly yanked the country out of the closet with movies that put homosexuality squarely into the mainstream and put heterosexuals in gay roles.
Ozpetek has been nominated for a Nastro D’Argento for his newest, Allacciate le Cinture (Fasten your seat belt) , a bittersweet love story.
Though this one will be hard for Americans to see any time soon, previous Ozpetek films are available from Netflix:
My favorite, La Finestra di Fronte (Facing Windows) stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno as a bored wife who learns an important life lesson from a holocaust survivor
Mine Vaganti (Loose Cannons) is a sweet, funny story starring Riccardo Scamarcio as a guy who was just about to come out to his family, but his brother beats him to it.
Saturno Contro (Saturn in Opposition) is a big story with a big famous cast (name your favorite Italian actor and there’s a 50% chance he’s in it) about the relationships in a group of friends.
I Love Italian Everything 