Padre Padrone

Padre Padrone
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaolo Taviani
Vittorio Taviani
Written byStory:
Gavino Ledda
Screenplay:
Paolo Taviani
Vittorio Taviani
Produced byGiuliani G. De Negri
StarringOmero Antonutti
CinematographyMario Masini
Edited byRoberto Perpignani
Music byEgisto Macchi
Distributed byRadiotelevisione Italiana
Cinema 5 Distributing (USA)
Artificial Eye (UK)
Release dates
Running time
114 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguagesItalian
Sardinian
Latin

Padre Padrone is a 1977 Italian film directed by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. The Tavianis used both professional and non-professional actors from the Sardinian countryside. The title (pronounced [ˈpaːdre pa'drone]) literally means "Father Master"; it has been translated as My Father, My Master or Father and Master.

The drama was originally filmed by the Taviani brothers for Italian television but won the 1977 Palme d'Or prize at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival.

The film depicts a Sardinian shepherd who is terrorized by his domineering father and tries to escape by educating himself. He eventually becomes a celebrated linguist. The drama is based on an autobiographical book of the same title by Gavino Ledda.

In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."