Abel Ferrara

Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent.{{cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Patrick|title=MOVIES The Prince of Darkness Director Abel Ferrara practices a kind of gonzo filmmaking, and his violent vision isn't a particularly popular one in Hollywood|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1990-10-28|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59945608.html?dids=59945608%3A59945608&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Oct+28%2C+1990&author=PATRICK+GOLDSTEIN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=MOVIES+The+Prince+of+Darkness+Director+Abel+Ferrara+practices+a+kind+of+gonzo+filmmaking%2C+and+his+violent+vision+isn%27t+a+particularly+popular+one+in+Hollywood&pqatl=google|access-date=2009-11-21|archive-date=July 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724221509/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59945608.html?dids=59945608%3A59945608&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Oct+28%2C+1990&author=PATRICK+GOLDSTEIN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=MOVIES+The+Prince+of+Darkness+Director+Abel+Ferrara+practices+a+kind+of+gonzo+filmmaking%2C+and+his+violent+vision+isn%27t+a+particularly+popular+one+in+Hollywood&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}} He was raised Catholic, which influenced much of his work.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/movies/12lim.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Struggling With Faith and Gentrification |first=Dennis |last=Lim |date=2008-10-12 |access-date=2010-04-23}} At 8 years old, he moved to Peekskill in Westchester County, New York and he started making movies at Rockland Community College.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/entertainment/2019/05/20/director-abel-ferrara-unrated-moma/3677852002/|title='Bad Lieutenant' filmmaker Abel Ferrara got his start at Rockland Community College|website=lohud.com|language=en|access-date=2019-12-04}} Later, he attended the film conservatory at SUNY Purchase, where he directed several short films.{{Cite web|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/1338-abel-ferrara-mary/|title=Abel Ferrara, Mary|last=Dawson|first=Nick|website=Filmmaker Magazine|date=October 18, 2008|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-04}}

File:The Driller Killer.jpg

Ferrara studied at the San Francisco Art Institute; one of his teachers and influences there was the famous avant-garde director Rosa von Praunheim.{{cite web |title=Seven nights with Abel Ferrara |url=https://www.americancinematheque.com/series/seven-nights-with-abel-ferrara-a-17-film-retrospective-with-live-scores/ |work=American Cinematheque |access-date=17 May 2023}} In the early 1970s, while still in art school, Ferrara directed a number of independently produced short films which included The Hold Up and Could This Be Love. Finding himself out of work after leaving film school in 1976, Ferrara directed his first feature film which was a pornographic film titled, 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy, using a pseudonym.{{cite book|title=The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films: An Historical Survey|last1=Paszylk|first1=Bartlomiej|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3695-8|page=153|chapter=The Driller Killer|date=9 March 2009}} Starring with his then-girlfriend, he recalled having to step in front of the camera for one scene to perform in a hardcore sex scene: "It's bad enough paying a guy $200 to fuck your girlfriend, then he can't get it up."{{cite interview |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/05/abel-ferrara-interview |title=Abel Ferrara: 'I made Scarface look like Mary Poppins' |date=5 August 2010 |newspaper=The Guardian |interviewer=Andrew Purcell |issn=0261-3077}}

Ferrara first drew a cult following with his second feature film, an exploitation movie titled The Driller Killer (1979), an urban slasher film about an artist (played by the director himself) who goes on a killing spree with a power drill. In the United Kingdom, the movie made it on a list of "video nasties" created by moral crusaders that led to prosecutions under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and to the passing of new legislation which forced all video releases to appear before the British Board of Film Classification for rating.{{Cite web| url=https://bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/education-news/video-nasties| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314004331/http://bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/education-news/video-nasties| url-status=dead| archive-date=March 14, 2013|title=Video Nasties |publisher=British Board of Film Classification|website=bbfc.co.uk|access-date=2019-09-09}}

The director's next feature was Ms .45 (1981), a "rape revenge" movie about a mute garment worker turned murderer (Zoë Tamerlis). Reviewers called it "a provocative, disreputable movie, well worth seeing".{{Cite web |url=http://www.timeout.com/london/film/ms-45|title=Ms .45 (2015), directed by Abel Ferrara {{!}} Film review|date=2015-08-22|website=timeout.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822095955/http://www.timeout.com/london/film/ms-45|access-date=2019-09-09|archive-date=2015-08-22}}

In 1984, Ferrara was hired to direct Fear City, starring Melanie Griffith, Billy Dee Williams, Rae Dawn Chong and María Conchita Alonso. When a "kung fu slasher" stalks and murders young women who work in a seedy Times Square strip club, a disgraced boxer portrayed by Tom Berenger uses his fighting skills to defeat the killer.{{Citation|title=Fear City (1984) |work=Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fear_city|language=en|access-date=2019-12-04}}

Ferrara worked on two Michael Mann-produced television series, directing the two-hour pilot for Crime Story (aired September 18, 1986), starring Dennis Farina,{{Cite web |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/5490|title=Crime Story. 1986. Directed by Abel Ferrara|website=MOMA.org|access-date=2019-09-09}} and two episodes of the series Miami Vice.{{Cite web| url=http://www.artinterviews.com/abelFerrara.html|title=Abel Ferrara Interview|website=artinterviews.com|access-date=2019-09-09}}

King of New York (1990) stars Christopher Walken as gangster Frank White, Laurence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes, David Caruso and Giancarlo Esposito. The movie received overall mixed reviews, but Ferrara was praised for his strong command of mood and style. Critic Roger Ebert wrote, "What Ferrara needs for his next film is a sound screenplay."{{Cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/king-of-new-york-1990 |title=King Of New York Movie Review (1990) |last=Ebert |first=Roger |website=RogerEbert.com |language=en |access-date=2019-09-09}}

Bad Lieutenant (1992) credits Ferrara and actress Zoë Tamerlis, who plays the woman who helps the Lieutenant freebase heroin in the movie, as co-writers of the script, but Tamerlis claimed that she wrote it alone.{{Citation |title=Zoe Tamerlis on the script of "Bad Lieutenant" |date=April 30, 2009 |via=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g68u0cARNjk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/g68u0cARNjk |archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live |language=en |access-date=2019-09-09}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/81012/13-great-facts-about-bad-lieutenant |title=13 Great Facts About Bad Lieutenant |date=2017-11-20 |website=mentalfloss.com |language=en |access-date=2019-09-09}} Bad Lieutenant received Spirit Awards nominations for Best Director and Best Actor, and despite its controversial content, the movie was lauded by critics. Director Martin Scorsese named it one of his top 10 films of the 1990s.[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000226/COMMENTARY/41219001/1023 Roger Ebert & The Movies (show #1426), 26 February 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414001924/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000226/COMMENTARY/41219001/1023 |date=April 14, 2010 }}. Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.

In 1993, Ferrara was hired for two Hollywood studio movies: another remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, titled Body Snatchers (1993), for Warner Bros.; and Dangerous Game (1993), starring Keitel and Madonna, for MGM.

In the mid-1990s Ferrara directed two well-received independent movies:

The Addiction (1995),{{cite news| url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-addiction-v133607/awards|title=The Addiction (1995): Awards|website=Allmovie.com |access-date=Feb 9, 2014}} photographed in black-and-white, stars Lili Taylor as a philosophy student who succumbs to a vampire as she studies the problem of evil and philosophical pedagogy, represented by the most violent events of the 20th century. The movie also features Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Kathryn Erbe and Michael Imperioli. It was co-produced by Russell Simmons.

The Funeral (1996),{{cite news| url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-funeral-v136162/awards|title=The Funeral (1996)|website=Allmovie.com |access-date=Feb 9, 2014}} starring Walken, Sciorra, Chris Penn, Isabella Rossellini, Benicio del Toro, Vincent Gallo and Gretchen Mol, was nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards including Best Director.

Following the success of The Funeral, Ferrara had an infamous interview with Conan O'Brien on October 23, 1996. Ferrara was believed to be intoxicated and struggled through the interview, often slurring and covering his face as well as waving around a cigarette. O'Brien would later state that Ferrara was his "worst guest ever".{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/conan-obrien-abel-ferrara-worst-interview-guest-1202024783/|title=Conan O'Brien Names Director Abel Ferrara His Worst Guest in 25 Years — Here's Why|date=December 3, 2018}} Eventually, O'Brien revealed to Ferrara's frequent collaborator Willem Dafoe that Ferrara "ran away" and that the segment producer had to "run down the street" to catch him and bring him back to the set. Dafoe said to O'Brien, "You did your best … and so did he!"

After making The Blackout (1997) with Matthew Modine and Dennis Hopper, he contributed to the omnibus television movie Subway Stories. Ferrara then made New Rose Hotel (1998), which reunited him with Christopher Walken.

File:Abel Ferrara.jpg

Ferrara returned three years later with 'R Xmas (2001), which starred Drea de Matteo and Ice-T. He recorded commentaries for Driller Killer{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2016/nov/30/the-driller-killer-humanist-abel-ferrara-moral-choices |title=The Driller Killer and the humanist behind the blood and sickening crunch |last=Righelato |first=Rowan |date=30 November 2016 |website=The Guardian |access-date=24 March 2022}} and King of New York{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/19/dvdreviews.thriller |title=DVD review: King of New York SE |last=Mackie |first=Rob |date=18 September 2008 |website=The Guardian |access-date=24 March 2022}} and made Mary (2005), a religious-themed multi-plot movie starring Juliette Binoche, Matthew Modine, Forest Whitaker, Heather Graham, Marion Cotillard, and Stefania Rocca. Mary premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2005. It swept the awards ceremony, garnering the Grand Jury Prize, SIGNIS Award and two others. It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite web|title=2005 TIFF Archives (10 posts)| website=bombippy.com |url=http://www.bombippy.com/archives/movies/2005_tiff/|access-date=10 May 2015}}

In 2007, Ferrara directed Go Go Tales a comedy with Modine, Bob Hoskins and Willem Dafoe that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival but was not shown in the United States until a special screening at the Anthology Film Archives in 2011.{{Cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/movies/07gogo.html|title='Go Go Tales' With Willem Dafoe − Review|last=Dargis|first=Manohla|date=2011-01-06|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-04|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

In 2009, Jekyll and Hyde was set to star Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent. After disagreements with Warner Bros., the movie was shelved in 2010.

In 2009, Napoli, Napoli, Napoli premiered out of competition at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.{{Cite news |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jul/30/venice-film-festival-ferrara-herzog|title=Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant joins Venice film festival contenders|date=2009-07-30|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2019-12-04}} The docudrama received little attention and poor reviews but Werner Herzog's reboot Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans was selected for competition at the prestigious festival. Asked about the Herzog film, Ferrara was quoted widely saying "I wish these people die in hell".{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jul/30/venice-film-festival-ferrara-herzog|title=Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant joins Venice film festival contenders|last=Brown|first=Mark|date=2009-07-30|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-12-04|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

In September 2011, 4:44 Last Day on Earth, starring Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh, premiered at the main competition of the 68th Venice International Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/lineup/off-sel/venezia68/ |title=Venezia 68: International competition of feature films |access-date=2011-08-28 |work=Venice |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927003322/http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/lineup/off-sel/venezia68/ |archive-date=2011-09-27}}

Ferrara's Welcome to New York, a fictionalized version of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case starring Gérard Depardieu and Jacqueline Bisset, was released on video on demand in 2014.{{cite news |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/cannes-film-festival-strauss-kahn-film-under-fire/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0|title=Cannes Film Festival: Strauss-Kahn Film Under Fire|access-date=June 15, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 18, 2014|first=Rachel|last=Donadio}}{{cite news|last=Child|first=Ben|title=Gerard Depardieu to star in film inspired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/feb/06/gerard-depardieu-dominique-strauss-kahn|access-date=April 17, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=February 6, 2012|location=London}} Ferrara's Pasolini (2014) about the titular Italian director stars Willem Dafoe.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/director-abel-ferrara-mysterious-1975-691898|title=Director Abel Ferrara on Mysterious 1975 Death of Pier Paolo Pasolini: 'I Know Who Killed Him'|access-date=June 15, 2014|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 28, 2014}}

After a 4-year long hiatus, Ferrara came back in 2019 with Tommaso, a new feature starring Dafoe and set in Rome. The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2019. It was released in the United States by Kino Lorber.

The following year, with Siberia (2020), Ferrara and Dafoe collaborated for the sixth time. Inspired by Carl Jung's The Red Book, the script was written by Ferrara and Chris Zois.{{cite web|last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr.|title=He's Back! Abel Ferrara To Launch Willem Dafoe-Starrer 'Siberia' On Croisette|date=14 May 2015|website=Deadline Hollywood| url=https://deadline.com/2015/05/abel-ferrara-willem-dafoe-siberia-cannes-1201426703/|access-date=20 June 2015}}{{cite web |last=Rife |first=Katie |title=Get Involved, Internet: Help Abel Ferrara and Willem Dafoe make a movie about dreams |date=14 May 2015 |website=The A.V. Club |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/get-involved-internet-help-abel-ferrara-and-willem-219468 |access-date=20 June 2015}} The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, on 24 February 2020. It was released in the United States by Lionsgate in 2021. Shortly after Ferrara directed the documentary Sportin' Life, about the beginning of quarantine measures in Europe a few days after the Berlinale premiere of Siberia, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Encinias |first=Joshua |date=2020-06-04 |title=Abel Ferrara on Filmmaking in Quarantine and the Spiritual Quest of Tommaso |url=https://thefilmstage.com/abel-ferrara-on-filmmaking-in-quarantine-and-the-spiritual-quest-of-tommaso/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |language=en-US}} The documentary had its world premiere at the 77th Venice Film Festival on 4 September 2020.

Since 2020 he has interpreted Gabriele Tinti's poetry giving voice to the masterpieces in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Pinacoteca di Brera, Museo Nazionale di San Marco, Ca' d'Oro, Musée Jacquemart-André and Museo Nazionale Romano{{Cite web |url=https://purple.fr/diary/abel-ferrara-reads-gabriele-tintis-poems-at-the-pinacoteca-di-brera-milan/| title=Abel Ferrara reads Gabriele Tinti's poems at the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan |date=2021-02-11 |access-date=2023-09-07}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.raicultura.it/letteratura/articoli/2021/03/Abel-Ferrara-legge-Bleedings-di-Gabriele-Tinti-ffc15582-fe2f-421b-bd6a-9c97ef9b2218.html |title=Abel Ferrara reads Gabriele Tinti's poems |access-date=2023-09-07}}

In August 2021, Zeros and Ones, starring Ethan Hawke, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 74th Locarno Film Festival, during the festival Ferrara won the Best Direction Award.{{Cite web |last=Kiang |first=Jessica |date=2021-08-14 |title=Golden Leopard Winner 'Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' Heads Impressive Slate Of Locarno Awards |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/locarno-film-festival-awards-2021-1235041709/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} The film was released in limited theaters and on demand by Lionsgate on November 19, 2021.

In 2022, Ferrara's Padre Pio, starring Shia LaBeouf and Asia Argento, premiered at the "Giornate degli Autori" section of the 79th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2022. The film was released in the United States by Gravitas Ventures on June 2, 2023. During the film's production, LeBeouf notably converted to Catholicism.

Ferrara is married to Cristina Chiriac and they have a daughter, Anna.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/abel-ferraras-tommaso-projectionist-land-at-kino-lorber-1272010|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|title=Abel Ferrara's 'Tommaso,' 'The Projectionist' Land at Kino Lorber (Exclusive)|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|date=January 21, 2020|access-date=February 29, 2020}}{{cite web|last=Shoard|first=Catherine|title=Abel Ferrera turns to Kickstarter: 'I'm gonna hurt people with this film'|date=18 May 2015|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/18/abel-ferrera-kickstarter-cannes-siberia|access-date=25 July 2016}} He was previously married to Nancy Ferrara.{{cite web|last=Maslin|first=Janet|title=Review/Film; A Movie Within a Movie, With a Demure Madonna|date=19 November 1993|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE5DF103AF93AA25752C1A965958260?|access-date=25 July 2016}} Ferrara has two adopted children: Endira and Lucy.{{cite web|title=Abel Ferrara Biography (1952?-)|work=Film Reference|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/90/Abel-Ferrara.html|access-date=20 December 2016}}{{cite web|last=Hoban|first=Phoebe|title=Raising Cain|date=1 February 1993|work=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RBgAAAAAMBAJ&q=endira+ferrara&pg=PA40|access-date=23 December 2016}} He was also in a romantic relationship with actress Shanyn Leigh.{{cite web|last=Macnab|first=Geoffrey|title=Willem Dafoe: 'I have a charmed life'|date=3 March 2012|newspaper=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/willem-dafoe-i-have-a-charmed-life-7466484.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305171219/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/willem-dafoe-i-have-a-charmed-life-7466484.html |archive-date=2012-03-05 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=20 August 2017}}{{cite web|last=Hoberman|first=J.|title=Home for the End of Days|date=19 March 2012|work=New York|url=https://nymag.com/movies/features/abel-ferrara-2012-3/|access-date=20 August 2017}}

Ferrara lives in Rome, Italy.{{cite web|last=Righelato|first=Rowan|title=Abel Ferrara: 'Pasolini's death is not some kind of fictional event'|date=11 September 2015|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/11/abel-ferrara-pier-paolo-pasolini-death-interview|access-date=25 July 2016}} He moved there following the 9/11 attacks because it was easier for him to find financing for his movies in Europe.{{cite web|last=Lim|first=Dennis|title=Struggling With Faith and Gentrification|date=10 October 2008|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/movies/12lim.html|access-date=25 July 2016}}

Raised Catholic, Ferrara started describing himself as Buddhist in 2007.{{cite web|last=Shoard|first=Catherine|title=Abel Ferrara at Cannes: 'You gotta be careful what you say … but I'm not'|date=23 May 2014|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/may/23/abel-ferrara-interview|access-date=25 July 2016}} When asked if he had converted, Ferrara responded,

{{cquote|It’s not a conversion, you’re not a card-carrying Catholic, you’re brought up Italian, so you’re brought up with those images. All the great art is financed by the Church so they have a monopoly on the paintings, and they’re powerful images, the whole nine yards of it. But Jesus was a living man, and so were Buddha and Muhammad. These three guys changed the fucking world, with their passion and love of other human beings. All these guys had was their word, and they came from fucking nowhere. I’m not saying Nazareth is nowhere – I’m sure Jesus came from a very cool neighbourhood. |author=Abel Ferrara{{cite web |last1=Gray |first1=Carmen |title=The spiritual side of Abel Ferrara |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/22491/1/the-spiritual-side-of-abel-ferrara |website=Dazed |language=en |date=12 November 2014}}}}

Ferrara said in 2020 that Buddhism "is a practice for me, not a religion".{{cite web|last=Bukuras|first=Joe|title=From porn to 'Padre Pio': Meet the director who felt drawn to tell the saint's story|date=August 30, 2022|website=Catholic News Agency|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252162/padre-pio-movie-director-abel-ferrara-past-films-pornography|accessdate=September 23, 2022}} In 2022, he stated he considered Padre Pio his "spirituality model".{{cite magazine|first=Elettra|last=Solero|title=Abel Ferrara: Padre Pio è il mio modello di spiritualità|language=it|magazine=Dipiù|date=November 18, 2022|number=46|pages=69–70}}

Influences on Ferrara's work include "the Stones and Dylan … DaVinci, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen and all of the great New York film makers".{{Cite web|url=http://www.artinterviews.com/abelFerrara.html|title=Abel Ferrara Interview|website=www.artinterviews.com|access-date=2019-09-09}} He has also credited Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rainer Werner Fassbinder as influences.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CAe3KScvB4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/3CAe3KScvB4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Cryptekeeper 041 Abel Ferrara/4H44 dernier jour sur terre|last=cryptekeeper|date=3 December 2012|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/the-pursuit-of-freedom-abel-ferrara-discusses-welcome-to-new-york|title=The Pursuit of Freedom: Abel Ferrara Discusses "Welcome to New York"|last=Kasman|first=Daniel|date=7 June 2014|access-date=6 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.artinterviews.com/abelFerrara.html|title=Abel Ferrara Interview|last=Carli|first=Vittorio|access-date=6 October 2015}}

Acting roles

TV movies

Ferrara has recast many of the same actors in his movies, most notably Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Willem Dafoe.{{cite web|last=Ruilova|first=Aïda|title=Abel Ferrara|work=Interview|date=February 13, 2013|url=http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/abel-ferrara#_}} Other actors he has recast include Annabella Sciorra and Matthew Modine as well as character actors such as Victor Argo, Paul Calderón and Giancarlo Esposito.{{cite web|last=Dee|first=Jake|title=Dissecting Director Abel Ferrara!|date=7 January 2014|url=https://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/news/dissecting-director-abel-ferrara}} David Caruso is another one of Ferrara's frequent film collaborators.{{cite web|title=Indie Filmmaker Abel Ferrara Will Bring Short Eyes Back to Broadway|date=24 February 2010|url=http://www.broadway.com/buzz/147166/indie-filmmaker-abel-ferrara-will-bring-short-eyes-back-to-broadway/}} Ms .45 (1981) star Zoë Lund collaborated with Ferrara again on Bad Lieutenant (1992), which she co-wrote.{{cite web|last=Vestby|first=Ethan|title=Abel Ferrara On Artistic Freedom, Collaboration, 'Ms. 45,' Pier Paolo Pasolini & More|date=9 December 2013|website=thefilmstage.com|url=http://thefilmstage.com/features/abel-ferrara-on-artistic-freedom-collaboration-ms-45-pier-paolo-pasolini-more/}} Gretchen Mol has worked with Ferrara twice.{{cite web| last=Hillis|first=Aaron|title=Gretchen Mol Indulges in "An American Affair"|date=26 February 2009|publisher=Ifc.com|url=http://www.ifc.com/fix/2009/02/gretchen-mol-indulges-in-an-am/2}} Forest Whitaker starred in Ferrara's movies Mary (2005) and Body Snatchers (1993).{{cite web|last=Nastasi|first=Alison|title=Abel Ferrara's 'Jekyll and Hyde' Coming Soon From Warner Bros.|date=19 November 2009|website=Moviefone|url=http://news.moviefone.com/2009/11/19/abel-ferraras-jekyll-and-hyde-coming-soon-from-warner-bros/|access-date=6 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210155608/http://news.moviefone.com/2009/11/19/abel-ferraras-jekyll-and-hyde-coming-soon-from-warner-bros/|archive-date=10 December 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

Beginning with The Driller Killer in 1979 through The Projectionist in 2019, Ferrara most frequently worked with Ken Kelsch as his cinematographer.{{Cite web|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/107567-filmmaking-is-like-combat-90-boredom-5-panic-and-5-terror-ken-kelsch-on-four-decades-as-a-cinematographer/|title="Filmmaking is Like Combat — 90% Boredom, 5% Panic and 5% Terror": Ken Kelsch on Four Decades as a Cinematographer|last=Louison|first=Evan|website=Filmmaker Magazine|date=May 22, 2019|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-24}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Biography}}

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• {{IMDb name|1206}}
• [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/05/abel-ferrara-interview Guardian interview, 5 August 2010]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100815071648/http://www.filmannex.com/posts/blog_show_post/film-annex-launches-nickys-film-sound-design-remix-contest/14203 Nicky's Film sound design and remix contest]

{{Abel Ferrara}}

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Category:1951 births

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Category:People from Morris Park, Bronx

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Category:Film directors from New York City

Category:American horror film directors

Category:State University of New York at Purchase alumni

Category:Postmodernist filmmakers