Born in 1961, she is one of the most talented Italian young directors. Known internationally for her first film Mignon Has Come to Stay, she has a natural artistic sensibility for the world of children and adolescents, a theme which has been treated with extreme delicacy in all her films. In 1980 she began attending the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Experimental Film Center) where she studied with Mario Monicelli (director), Carlo de Palma (cinematographer), Furio Scarpelli and Ugo Pirro (screenplayers), Perpignani (editor) and Piero Tosi (costumes). From 1980 to 1983 she realized four short films and a documentary. In 1987 her first debut as a director with Mignon Has Come to Stay won her six David di Donatello, the most prestigious Italian Cinema Awards, for Best Film, Best Director, Best Script, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Direct Sound. Mignon Has Come to Stay also won the Best First Film Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The same film was presented at the first edition of Nice Festival in New York. In 1990 her second film At Night Fall, with Marcello Mastroianni starring, won 2 Awards: the David di Donatello and the Nastro d’Argento. In 1993 Francesca Archibugi realized her third film The Great Pumikin for which she was awarded the David di Donatello for best film, best screenplay and best actor. In 1994 her fourth film was Closed Eyes, a work based on a famous novel by Federico Tozz , where the director experiments a challenging adaptation of a written psychological drama. Her love for Jazz music inspired the documentary La strana storia della banda sonora presented at Venice International Film Festival in the “Immagini e Musica Selection”. In 1997 The Pear Tree or Shooting the Moon was selected at the Venice Festival. In 2000 she made Domani, and later she worked for TV features and documentaries.