The biopic, which premiered in Competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, captures the life of Tommaso Buscetta, the late infamous mafia turncoat who began his organised crime career in Sicily and died in Florida incognito under the US witness protection programme in 2000.

It marked the first time Bellocchio has won best film at the awards although he previously clinched best director with A Leap In The Dark (shared with Gillo Pontecorvo’s Ogro) in 1980 and Vincere in 2010. He was also feted with a career David in 2014.