Italian director Paolo Sorrentino has profiled some powerful figures over the years, from real-life Italian premiers to fictional popes, as well as his adopted Rome in the Oscar-winner “The Great Beauty.” But in his newest release, Sorrentino turns the camera on his own personal tragedy.

Sorrentino’s autobiographical “The Hand of God,” which premieres Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, recounts how his otherwise normal childhood in 1980s Naples was upended by the sudden, accidental death of his parents and how a certain athlete had an unintentional role in saving his life.