More well-known as an author than for films, Margaret Mazzantini never-the-less has left her indelible mark in Italian cinema. The wife of Sergio Castellito, Margaret will be forever remembered for her collaboration with her husband on the 2004 movie Non Ti Muovere (Don’t Move).
Born in Dublin in 1961, Margaret is the daughter of the writer Carlo Mazzantini and the painter Anne Donnelly. When she was three the family moved to Tivoli where she grew up and attended the National Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Primarily a theatrical actress, she began her career in a 1980 horror film called Antropofago, and it was on this movie set that she met Castellito. They married in 1987 and went on to have four children, all with the middle name of either “Contento” or “Contenta”, which means “happy”. Their oldest son Pietro acts as well, and starred in È Nata Una Star? starring Luciana Littizzetto, Rocco Papaleo and the young Castellito. This 2012 comedy asks parents to consider something that they probably rarely have: What would you do if you found out that your teenage son was a porn star?
Non Ti Muovere was first an award-winning novel written by Mazzantini; she won the coveted Strega Book Award, the most important Italian literary prize. Is it a love story or a tale of violence against women? You can decide for yourself; you can buy the book, translated into English, on Amazon. 
One of the best films since 2000, it stars Sergio Castellito, Claudia Gerini, and Penelope Cruz as the prostitute Italia, an unflattering role that only a very brave actress would take. With Sergio directing and acting and Margaret as the screenwriter, this film went on to win David di Donatellos, Nastro D’Argentos, Italian Golden Globes, European Film Awards, and other film festival honors.
More recently Mazzantini’s book became a movie starring Riccardo Scamarcio and Jasmine Trinca and called Nessuno Si Salva Da Solo (No one saves themselves alone) about the difficulties of a couple dealing with anorexia. The story takes place all in the span of one evening, during a dinner in which a recently separated couple with two children must decide who’d get them for the summer, but end up spending the evening talking about what happened in their relationship.
You can also watch another Mazzantini/Castellito collaboration Venuto al Mondo (Twice Born), the story of a single mother (played by Penelope Cruz) who brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years ago.
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