Born in
Palermo, Guadagnino spent part of his childhood in Ethiopia, but moved back to Italy with his family to escape the
civil war. He began his career directing short films and documentaries. He made his feature-film debut with
The Protagonists (1999), the first of his many collaborations with Swinton. His follow-up
Melissa P. (2005), based on the book of
Melissa Panarello, was a commercial success in Italy but was met with mixed critical reception.
Guadagnino gained further acclaim with his
Desire trilogy, which consists of the films
I Am Love (2009),
A Bigger Splash (2015), and
Call Me by Your Name (2017). The latter brought him international recognition and marked the start of his creative partnership with Chalamet.
Suspiria (2018) marked his first foray into the horror genre; a remake of the
1977 film, it polarized critics and was deemed a box office failure. The film was followed by
We Are Who We Are (2020) a coming-of-age miniseries for
HBO, and the romantic horror film
Bones and All (2022). Over his career he has received numerous accolades, including a
Silver Lion, alongside nominations for an
Academy Award and three
BAFTA Awards.
