Ilaria Borrelli is an Italian actress, scriptwriter, director, and producer., known for The Goat.
Biography Ilaria Borrelli was born in Naples, Italy, in 1968. She studied piano at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome and graduated in 1987. She is a writer, actress, scriptwriter, director, and producer. She has performed in movies, plays, and in French and Italian TV series. Between 1999 and 2007, Borrelli published four novels, Scosse, Luccattmì, Domani si Gira, and Tanto Rumore per Tullia, for which she received critical acclaim and several prestigious literary prizes.
Borrelli’s work in her books is representative of an “Italian-style” postfeminist paradigm. It is an aggressive attack on the patriarchal manipulation of women’s sense of inadequacy and their lack of confidence spanning generations..
Borrelli's postfeminist ideas are reflected in her first two comedies. The setting of Borrelli’s first feature film, Mariti in Affitto (2004), moves from Procida, a small Italian island near Naples, to New York. The postfeminist paradigm here is clearly in motion: the subaltern male characters, female friendship, and the collaborative effort of the two women to gain independence and control of their lives.
Similarly, in her second feature film, Come le formiche, the two sisters’ reconciliation allows to save the winery they manage instead of their incompetent husbands. Social commitment Talking To The Trees (Retour à La Vie in the French version) is set in Cambodia where Mia (Ilaria Borrelli herself) wants to save Srey, a little girl from a brothel where she has seen her having sex with her husband. The movie shows her « passionate commitment » to raise awareness to combat child prostitution.
As for The Goat (2023), it is a rare, if not unique, case of an Arab production directed by an Italian woman. An 11-year-old pregnant orphan named Hadya has been forced into marriage and becomes the target of a western corporation that seeks to control the only water source in her village. She escapes into the desert with her goat on a journey in search of her father. Borrelli explained that this film aims to question « civilised » western countries – and all of us who live in them – about our role in the appropriation of the natural resources of poorer countries. In April 2026, The goat was screened at the Filmothèque du Quartier latin (fr), a movie theater in Paris. The exceptional nature of this event - organized as part of the World Art Day International Forum, a UNESCO event organized by Guila-Clara Kessous, UNESCO Artist for Peace, an annual international debate aimed at exploring the catalytic role of art in social transformation - was underscored by the participation of Dr. Denis Mukwege, winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.
Private life Ilaria Borreli was born in Naples, studied in Rome, lived for 9 years in New-York where she studied at NYU and settled in Paris about 2009. She was married to Guido Freddi, filmmaker and musician, with whom she has two children.
Novels Year Original Title Editor English title English language editor (year) Literary prize (year)1999 Scosse Vittorio ProntiTremblingsClassi (2015)Club Letterario Italiano (2000)Premio Firenze (2000) Premio Prevert (2000) 2002 Luccattmi AvaglianoNA2003 Domani si Gira AvaglianoNA Il Viaggio Infinito (2003)Marengo d'Oro (2003) 2005 Tanto Rumore per Tullia Sperling & KupferNA Filmography Year Film - Italian or French language titleEnglish language title Actress Director Writer Producer1990 Il sole anche di notte 1991 Cena alle nove 1993 The Washing Machine 1993 La cavalièreTV series 1993 Polly West est de retour TV movie 1994 I pavoni 1996Frankfurt-Miami Tatort series episode 14 1994-1997La mondaine TV series 1997 La vita è bella Life is beautiful dubbing Nicoletta Braschi in the American version 2004 Mariti in AffittoOur Italian Husbandstarring Chevy Chase and Brooke Shields 2007 Come le formicheWine and Kissesstarring F. Murray Abraham and Bernadette Peters 2008 L'uomo con la valigiaTV movie 2012 Frozen Souls (short film) 2012 Talking to the trees also known as The Girl From The Brothel or Retour à la vie coproducer2023 The Goat.starring Mira Scorvino and John Savage Co-producer, Executive Producer
Awards 2019 - Critics' award and Golden Rose of the Canova Club in Rome 2023 - LA Independent Women Film Awards : The Goat - Best narrative
References
External links