Filmmaker Shares Insights on Adapting Elusive Author Elena Ferrante's Novels

In November 2025, Italian filmmaker Saverio Costanzo provided a behind-the-scenes look at his collaboration with the enigmatic author Elena Ferrante to adapt her Neapolitan novels into the hit HBO series "My Brilliant Friend." Costanzo, who co-wrote and directed all four seasons of the show, first approached Ferrante about adapting her novel "The Lost Daughter," but was unable to create a successful script due to the book's complex structure.

However, Ferrante was receptive to Costanzo's efforts, granting him the rights to work on the script for free for six months. When that adaptation proved unsuccessful, Ferrante's publisher then asked Costanzo if he would try adapting the Neapolitan novels instead. Costanzo found a way into that story and began a fruitful collaboration with Ferrante, with the two co-writing every episode alongside other writers.

Despite never having met Ferrante in person, as the novelist's true identity remains unknown, Costanzo describes their working relationship as open and productive. Ferrante was receptive to changes, seeing the "tension between a man and a woman" as central to the work. Costanzo also shared an anecdote about a disagreement over the show's casting, where Ferrante's notes were ultimately proven wrong.

Looking ahead, Costanzo expressed doubts about whether a production like "My Brilliant Friend" could be made today, given the significant resources required to accurately portray the now mostly defunct Neapolitan dialect used by the characters.