Paolo Sorrentino, the Oscar-winning director of The Great Beauty reflected on the decision to look inward during a Deadline panel session in New York. “The time was right,” he recalled feeling, because 50 is “an important moment in life in order to look back and not to look at the future. But at the same time, this movie is giving me a future,” Sorrentino explained.

Returning to his hometown of Naples, writer-director Sorrentino draws from his own upbringing as the source for the Italian-language drama. Set in the ’80s, The Hand of God tells the story of Fabietto Schisa (Filippo Scotti), whose tumultuous life is filled with unexpected highs and lows. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Read more at Deadline and watch the trailer below. The film is now playing in select theaters and will be available on Netflix December 15.