Edoardo Ponti

Edoardo Ponti is an Italiandirector. He is the son of actress Sophia Loren and producer Carlo Ponti Sr. and the brother of conductor Carlo Ponti.

Ponti was born on January 6, 1973 in Geneva, Switzerland. Ponti's mother is Sophia Loren, the actress. Ponti's father is Carlo Ponti Sr., a film producer. Ponti grew up in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ponti studied at Aiglon College in Switzerland and graduated in 1990.In 1994, Ponti graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. In 1998, Ponti earn his Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Directing & Production from the University of Southern California School of Cinema and Television.

Between Strangers was the first feature film Edoardo Ponti wrote and directed. It was produced by Gabriella Martinelli and starred an ensemble cast which includes Sophia Loren, Mira Sorvino, Deborah Kara Unger, Gérard Depardieu, Pete Postlethwaite, and Malcolm McDowell. The film premiered at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals. It won five Genie nominations, the Canadian equivalent to the Academy Award. Ponti earned the best first-time filmmaker award from the Newport Beach Film Festival, as well as an award of merit from the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival.

In 2011, Ponti wrote and directed the romantic comedy Coming & Going starring Rhys Darby, Fionnula Flanagan, and Sasha Alexander, as well as Away we Stay, a branded short for W Hotel Chain starring Helena Christensen and David Gandy, which premiered in London.

In 2012, Ponti directed, Il Turno di Notte lo fanno le stelle, his first Italian-language film, written by Erri De Luca, and starring Nastassja Kinski, Enrico Lo Verso, and Julian Sands. The same year, he starred as an actor in Michel Comte's directorial debut, a film adaptation of Madam Butterly, in which he played the lead character, Pinkerton.

In 2014, he directed Voce umana (Human Voice), a short film adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s one-act play The Human Voice, starring Sophia Loren. He was also attached to direct the British motion picture Payment Deferred starring Malcolm McDowell based on CS Forester’s bestselling novel and the period piece Behind her Smile produced by Fred Roos.

Ponti’s past film credits include a starring role in the film Aurora directed by Maurizio Ponzi, for which he earned a "Nastro d’Argento" nomination, Italy's prestigious film critics' prize. The first short Ponti wrote and directed entitled Liv was executive produced by Robert Altman and Michelangelo Antonioni, and was premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.

Ponti also produced and directed Eugène Ionesco's play The Lesson. He then went on to adapt for the stage, produce, and direct Nick Bantock’s best-selling epistolary trilogy Griffin & Sabine at the Spoleto Theatre Festival in Italy. He wrote and directed an opera with renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner entitled Requiem for my Friend for which Warner Bros. awarded Ponti a platinum record.

Ponti next directed The Life Ahead starring Loren, Ibrahima Gueye, Abril Zamora, Renato Carpentieri and Babak Karimi, based upon the novel The Life Before Us by Romain Gary, for Netflix.

Other ventures

In 2008, Ponti co-founded TakeHollywood.com, an online service, which provides knowledge to those wanting to enter the world of show business from A-list actors, directors, producers, casting directors, managers, and agents.

Ponti is fluent in English, French, and Italian.

On 11 August 2007, Ponti married actress Sasha Alexander, in Geneva. They have two children, Lucia Sofia Ponti (born 12 May 2006) and Leonardo Fortunato Ponti (born 20 December 2010).