Florinda Bolkan
Encyclopedia
Florinda Bolkan is a Brazil
ian actress, born Florinda Bulcão.
on her mother's side, Florinda lived in Fortaleza
, the capital of Ceará
state, and in Rio de Janeiro
until she became a world citizen. A former flight inspector for Brazilian international carrier Varig
, she came in contact with several languages and became fluent in English
, Italian
and French
.
Florinda moved to Italy
in 1968, after being "discovered" by director Luchino Visconti
. She changed her name and became known as Florinda Bolkan mainly because she thought her new name made it more comfortable for international audiences.
In her first international movie, Candy
, she acted alongside worldwide famous Beatle Ringo Starr
. Later on, she worked in more than 40 movies, mainly in Italy
. In Una breve vacanza
she was directed by Vittorio de Sica
. Under Elio Petri's direction, she made one of the most acclaimed films of her career, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. Enrico Maria Salerno
directed her in Anonimo Venziano
. She worked beside Jean-Louis Trintignant
, John Cassavetes
and Annie Girardot
.
Much like Sophia Loren
, Claudia Cardinale
and Monica Vitti
, she also won, three times, the David di Donatello award
, the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. De Sica
, when he hired Florinda for Una breve vacanza
- the same film that would launch her on the North American market - said: "I chose you because your eyes have known hunger". She replied: "Those born in Ceará
bring within themselves a strong and hard share of the real thing.".
She had an eighteen-year affair with producer Marina Cicogna producer of "A Brief Vacation".
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian actress, born Florinda Bulcão.
Biography
Daughter of a congressman and a granddaughter of a priestPriest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
on her mother's side, Florinda lived in Fortaleza
Fortaleza
Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.5 million , Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. It has an area of and one of the highest demographic densities in the country...
, the capital of Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
state, and in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
until she became a world citizen. A former flight inspector for Brazilian international carrier Varig
Varig
VARIG was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990 it was Brazil's leading and almost only international airline...
, she came in contact with several languages and became fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Florinda moved to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1968, after being "discovered" by director Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
. She changed her name and became known as Florinda Bolkan mainly because she thought her new name made it more comfortable for international audiences.
In her first international movie, Candy
Candy (1968 film)
Candy is a 1968 sex farce film directed by Christian Marquand based on the 1958 novel by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, from a screenplay by Buck Henry. The film satirizes pornographic stories through the adventures of its naive heroine, Candy, played by Ewa Aulin...
, she acted alongside worldwide famous Beatle Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
. Later on, she worked in more than 40 movies, mainly in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In Una breve vacanza
A Brief Vacation
A Brief Vacation is a 1973 Italian melodrama directed by Vittorio de Sica. The script, written by Cesare Zavattini, was inspired by an Apollinaire adage .-Synopsis:...
she was directed by Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
. Under Elio Petri's direction, she made one of the most acclaimed films of her career, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. Enrico Maria Salerno
Enrico Maria Salerno
Enrico Maria Salerno was an Italian theatre & film actor, also a film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Christ in The Gospel According to St...
directed her in Anonimo Venziano
The Anonymous Venetian
The Anonymous Ventian can refer to:*The Anonymous Venetian , a film*The Anonymous Venetian , a book by Donna Leon...
. She worked beside Jean-Louis Trintignant
Jean-Louis Trintignant
Jean-Louis Trintignant is a French actor who has enjoyed an international acclaim. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.-Career:...
, John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
and Annie Girardot
Annie Girardot
Annie Girardot was a French actress.She began performing in 1955, making her film debut in Treize à table. Girardot won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti in 1956, and in 1977 won the César Award for Best Actress portraying the title character in Docteur Françoise Gailland...
.
Much like Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
and Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti is an Italian actress best known for her starring roles in films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, her lover at that time, during the early 1960s...
, she also won, three times, the David di Donatello award
David di Donatello
David di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The...
, the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. De Sica
Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
, when he hired Florinda for Una breve vacanza
A Brief Vacation
A Brief Vacation is a 1973 Italian melodrama directed by Vittorio de Sica. The script, written by Cesare Zavattini, was inspired by an Apollinaire adage .-Synopsis:...
- the same film that would launch her on the North American market - said: "I chose you because your eyes have known hunger". She replied: "Those born in Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
bring within themselves a strong and hard share of the real thing.".
She had an eighteen-year affair with producer Marina Cicogna producer of "A Brief Vacation".
Selected filmography
- Bad Inclinations (2003)
- Eu Não Conhecia Tururu (2000)
- Beautiful Woman (1998)
- Some GirlsSome Girls (film)-Synopsis:The story revolves around a college student Michael who goes to Quebec City, Canada for Christmas at the request of his college girlfriend Gabriella , after months of her stonewalling him after she left college in mid-semester....
(1988) - La PiovraLa PiovraLa Piovra is an acclaimed Italian Television drama miniseries about the Mafia.The story was by Sandro Petraglia. The production was designed by Luigi Perelli...
(1984) - Royal FlashRoyal Flash (film)Royal Flash is a 1975 film based on George MacDonald Fraser's second Flashman novel, Royal Flash. It starred Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez...
(1975) - Footprints on the Moon (1975)
- Flavia the Heretic (1974)
- A Brief Vacation (1973)
- Don't Torture a DucklingDon't Torture a DucklingDon't Torture a Duckling, is a Giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci in 1972.The film is significant within Fulci's filmography as it is one of the first in which he began using violent gore effects, something he would continue to do in his later films, such as Zombi 2, The Beyond and City of the...
(1972) - The Master TouchThe Master TouchThe Master Touch is a 1972 Italian / West German crime film directed by Michele Lupo starring Kirk Douglas and Florinda Bolkan.The film is also known as A Man to Respect in the Philippines and the USA....
(1972) - A Lizard in a Woman's SkinA Lizard in a Woman's SkinLizard in a Woman's Skin is a 1971 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci. It was released in 1971. The film follows the daughter of a respected politician by the name of Carol Hammond , who experiences a series of vivid, psychedelic nightmares consisting of depraved sex orgies and LSD...
(1971) - The Last ValleyThe Last ValleyThe Last Valley is a 1970 historical drama film directed by James Clavell. Set during the Thirty Years War, it stars Michael Caine as the leader of a band of mercenaries, and Omar Sharif as a teacher fleeing from the violence endemic to Germany during this period...
(1970) - The Anonymous VenetianThe Anonymous Venetian (film)Anonimo Venziano is a 1970 Italian award winning drama film written and directed by the famous Italian actor Enrico Maria Salerno on his debut as film director...
(1970) - Investigation of a Citizen Above SuspicionInvestigation of a Citizen Above SuspicionInvestigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is a 1970 Italian film crime drama directed by Elio Petri. It is a dramatic, psychological, black-humoured satire on corruption in high office, telling the story of a top police officer who kills his lover and then tests whether the police would charge ...
(1970) - The Damned (1969)
- Detective BelliDetective BelliDetective Belli is a 1969 Italian crime film directed by Romolo Guerrieri and starring Franco Nero.-Cast:* Franco Nero - Commissario Stefano Belli* Florinda Bolkan - Vera Fontana* Adolfo Celi - Avvocato Fontana* Delia Boccardo - Sandy Bronson...
(1969) - Machine Gun McCainMachine Gun McCainMachine Gun McCain is a 1969 Italian crime film directed by Giuliano Montaldo based on the 1961 novel Candyleg by Ovid Demaris. It was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* John Cassavetes - Hank McCain* Britt Ekland - Irene Tucker...
(1969) - Put a Dinner On an Evening (1969)
- CandyCandy (1968 film)Candy is a 1968 sex farce film directed by Christian Marquand based on the 1958 novel by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, from a screenplay by Buck Henry. The film satirizes pornographic stories through the adventures of its naive heroine, Candy, played by Ewa Aulin...
(1968)