In 1992 made his first short filmLe belle prove,[1] which won a prize at the Torino Film Festival. Two years later the same cast was reassembled for his first feature film, Nella mischia (1995), which was the first feature selected for Director's Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Zanasi also directed the television miniseries Fathers and Sons and the documentary Life is short but the day is long.[when?][citation needed]
He returned to feature films in 2007, with the comedy Don't Think About It, starring Valerio Mastandrea, Anita Caprioli, Giuseppe Battiston, Caterina Murino, and others. Critically acclaimed, the film gave rise in 2009 to a television series of the same name, broadcast by Fox Italy, directed by Zanasi and Pellegrini, with the same cast as the original title.[2]