FUSING CULTURAL IDENTITIES
The First Edition of Melting Pot Film Festival is an intentional space where cinematic boundaries dissolve into a vibrant professional hub in the eternal city of Rome. Conceived by director and screenwriter Livia Oya Proto, welcomes short movies and documentaries that explore the concept of the melting pot: the fusion and interaction of different cultures, identities, and communities living within the same geographical and social space.
STRUCTURE
The festival will take place at THE CINECLUB in Rome, a cinema space founded by Director of Photography Davide Manca, offering an intimate and professional environment for the presentation of independent cinema.
The festival will be structured as a two day event in May 2027, bringing together filmmakers, industry professionals, artists, and audiences for a programme dedicated to short films and documentaries.
The programme will include screenings of the ten selected short films and documentaries, followed by opportunities for discussion and exchange between filmmakers and the audience.
Each selected filmmaker will have the opportunity to present their work in a professional cinema environment and to engage directly with the festival community.
In addition to the screenings, the festival will feature Q&A sessions, filmmaker discussions, networking opportunities, and informal encounters with other filmmakers and industry professionals.
JURY
Francesca Mazzoleni
Francesca Mazzoleni (1989) is an Italian director and screenwriter. She graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia of Rome in 2015. She has directed short films and documentaries that have won several awards, e.g. Nowhere, I Know You Can Hear Me, 1989. In 2018 she directed her first feature film, the coming of age "That's Life". Her latest film, the lyrical and political documentary "Punta Sacra", received the jury award for the best feature film at the Visions du Réel Documentary Film Festival in April 2020, obtained the David di Donatello nomination for Best Documentary 2021 and the Silver Ribbon "Valentina Pedicini" 2021. In last years she has worked in series directing an episode of "Romulus II" and two episodes of the series "Supersex" (loosely based on the life of porn actor Rocco Siffredi) which had its world premiere at Berlinale 2024 and on Netflix in March 2024.
Cosimo AlemÀ
Cosimo Alema was born in Rome. He began working in music video production in the early 1990s. After several years as an assistant director in the film industry, he began his directing career in 1995. He subsequently founded his own film production company, "The Mob", which is now a leader in Italy in the music video industry. He has made over 750 music videos, for both Italian and international artists, and numerous commercials. He has won awards throughout Europe, including the prestigious Key Director's Award in 2005. His short films have participated in some of the most important film festivals, such as Berlin in 1998. "At the End of the Day" is his first feature film. Over the last ten years, he has directed numerous TV series and films such as Zeta (2016), La Santa(2014), TV series “One Step From Heaven “(2019-2021), Backstage: Dietro Le quinte (2022). His latest TV series projects, Estranei and Memoriæ, are scheduled for release.
Daniele Persica
Daniele Persica was born in Rome in 1972. In the mid1990s, during his university studies, he began working as an assistant director and writing and directing his own early projects. He made his directorial debut in music videos and commercials in 1998; since then, he has directed over one hundred music videos for Italian and international artists and produced numerous commercials, documentaries, short films, and title sequences for series and formats. In 2011, he wrote the screenplay for the film "At the End of the Day" serving also as its executive producer and has since focused on developing and writing film projects. His work has been featured at numerous festivals, earning various awards (including Best Video at the Giffoni Film Festival, a Gold Medal at the New York Film and Television Festival, a Gold Prize at Promax Los Angeles, and Gold and Silver Medals at Promax Europe for promos and commercials).
Screenwriter, ten-time winner of the Chiavi d’Oro del Successo Award and nominee for the 2007 Silver Ribbon (Nastro d’Argento) for Best Screenplay for Le Rose del Deserto, directed by Mario Monicelli.
Alessandro bencivenni
TEO CASANI
Teo Casani (Rome, May 31, 1958) is an Italian line producer and executive producer active in international cinema.
He began his career in the film industry at the production company Filmalpha, gradually working as a production manager, line producer, and executive producer. Among the most notable films he has worked on are Io e il Duce (1985), directed by Alberto Negrin; L’odore della notte (1998), directed by Claudio Caligari; The Discovery of Heaven (2001), directed by Jeroen Krabbé; and The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003), directed by Peter Greenaway. In 2022 he served as co–executive producer for Alien Film on E.O., directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize and was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. In 2025 he served as executive producer of the short film Ciao Varsavia, nominated for the David di Donatello Awards.
yunus nihat Özcan
A highly experienced figure in the Turkish television and audiovisual industry, with a career spanning film, television, documentaries, programmes, communications, and production. He has worked with major broadcasters and production companies including Magicbox–InterStar, 32. Gün, Show TV, ATV, Kanal D, and NTV.
Screenwriter and producer, winner of the MATTADOR Award for Best Subject for Prognosi Riservata, as well as the Premio Città di Toscana.
JURY
SILVIA TARQUINI
Silvia Tarquini holds a PhD in Cinema and New Media. She is the founder of Artdigiland and an expert in the relationship between visual language, light, and independent cinema.
GHERARDO GOSSI
Born in Turin, Gherardo Gossi began his career working with Guido Chiesa, with whom he collaborated on several films, including Il partigiano Johnny and Lavorare con lentezza. He went on to establish a long-standing partnership with Daniele Vicari, spanning feature films, documentaries and television, from Velocità massima and Diaz – Don’t Clean Up This Blood to Orlando and Ammazzare stanca. Throughout his career, he has also worked with directors including Daniele Gaglianone, Emma Dante, Francesco Amato, Marco Simon Puccioni and Masbedo. His cinematography has earned him several Nastri d’Argento and David di Donatello nominations, as well as the FICE Award and the BIFEST Award for Best Cinematography.
Screenwriter and producer, winner of the MATTADOR Award for best subject for Prognosi Riservata, as well as the Premio Città di Toscana.
giorgio maria nicolai
LUCIA SCARPATI
She has been working in the film industry since 2015, taking on various roles in production and direction including serving as an assistant to Annamaria Morelli and producer Chiara Tilesi in Los Angeles and has worked for years as an assistant casting director. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with prominent casting directors such as Maurilio Mangano, Chiara Agnello, Cassandra Han, Federica Baglioni, and Adriana Ciampi, as well as notable directors like Ciro d’Emilio, Gianni Zanasi, Tiziano Russo, Michele Soavi, and Riccardo Donna. Her recent projects include the Rai 1 series “Le Libere Donne”, starring Lino Guanciale, and the Netflix series “Mrs Playmen”, starring Carolina Crescentini.
SIM LEVI TEZEL
Winner of the 2026 MATTADOR Award for Costantinopoli, this Turkish screenwriter strengthens the international cultural link between Italy and Türkiye.
FEDERICA DI DIO
Federica Frida Di Dio works in the film industry as a First Assistant Director and Casting Assistant/Casting Coordinator, gaining experience across major Italian and international productions. Throughout her career, she has worked as a Casting Assistant on the first season of the series Hanno ucciso l’Uomo Ragno La leggendaria storia degli 883 and on the series Qui non è Hollywood. She has also served as a Background Casting Coordinator for Luca Guadagnino’s Queer and Immaculate, and as a First Assistant Director on Oi Vita Mia by Pio and Amedeo, The Swarm, and The Dirty Black Bag, in addition to collaborating on numerous other film and television productions. Alongside her work on set, she is developing her own path as a filmmaker, with the goal of establishing herself as a director. She wrote and directed the short film Soy un hombre libre, which tells the story of a Colombian man and how his arrival in Italy profoundly changed his life. She is currently working on a documentary and a new short film, both forthcoming. Her professional journey is defined by a constant focus on storytelling, background casting management, and the ability to bring stories and people to the forefront skills developed through hands-on experience and further strengthened through her work on major national and international productions.
FRANCESCO LO GRIPPO
Award-winning director and screenwriter, Francesco Lo Grippo won the MATTADOR Award for Best Subject. His short film I Sabotatori took top honors at the 2025 Apulia Web Fest.
JURY
Emanuele Campanile
Osama Charfi
Director of the upcomig documentary Festina Lete Istanbul 2026, Co-screenwriter of the feature film Il Primo Passo.
Italian Tunisian director and performer with a background in performance art. His work explores themes such as identity, displacement, cultural heritage, and the contemporary world.
Carlo Del Bono
Carlo Del Bono is a Rome based composer and arranger. His sound draws on progressive rock, vintage film scoring, and psychedelic influences, built around a warm, analog palette Tape, 12-string guitar, vintage keyboards, and the Mellotron all play a central role, giving his work a lush, textured, period-tinged character. His own listening world spanning from Italian chanteurs to art rock, baroque pop, modern psychedelia, trip hop, ambient, and folk maps closely into a composing that is dense and visceral, intimate in scale yet cinematic in texture.
He is also composer for Elanor, a duo whose music carries that same warm, atmospheric mood into pop songwriting.
Hamdi Dahir
GayloR Mangumbu
A native of Kinshasa, Gaylor Mangumbu grew up between Rome and Paris. After completing his studies, he began working as a freelance consultant for the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome; this role led him to design the costumes for Lorenzo Sportiello’s graduation short film, *Col Sangue agli Occhi*, which won the 2009 RIFF award (Student Films category). He also began a collaboration with the production company Capsulae, designing costumes for *Strange Coppedé*, *Icarus*, and the initial episodes of the web series *Tutte le ragazze con una certa cultura*, directed by Francesco Fanuele and Felice V. Bagnato, respectively. Since 2016, he has collaborated as a freelancer with the magazine and cultural hub GriotMag and SpazioGriot; he has also managed the blog Style 241 since 2010 and is a junior member of the A.S.C.
tugba yazici
African-Italian fashion designer based in Rome and founder of Kora Contaminazioni Sartoriali, a social entrepreneurship initiative established in Rome as an ASP. beKora is the company/start-up that she promotes and develops Kora’s values and projects. Her work combines fashion, tailoring, cultural exchange, and social entrepreneurship.
Multidisciplinary contemporary artist and producer. She has worked on audiovisual projects such as Echo Pilot Episode and Serbülent Apartmanı and was named “Inspiring Woman of the Year” by the UK-based She Inspires Foundation.
PRIZE AND SPONSOR
Each winner will receive a custom designed 3D printed trophy, created specifically for the Melting Pot Film Festival. The sculpture will represent the world and the language of cinema, symbolising the encounter between different cultures, identities, territories, and perspectives that lies at the heart of the festival. The trophy will serve not only as a recognition of the artistic achievement of each filmmaker, but also as a physical representation of the festival’s core philosophy: cinema as a meeting point between different cultures.
In addition to the physical award, each category winner will be featured in an exclusive interview published in ARTTMODERNMIAMI Magazine. The interviews will give the winning filmmakers the opportunity to present their artistic vision, discuss their work and creative process, and reflect on the cultural and human themes explored through their films.
Festina Lente is our Media Promotional Partner founded by Dr Roy Yu and creative director Ivy Li.
PRIZE AND SPONSOR
Thanks to the invaluable collaboration of Alessio Santelli, Director of Photography and Award Partnership Manager, and the support of Flavio Trezzi, Director at World Video Rentals, the Festival is presenting a significant award dedicated to the art of cinematography.
The Best Cinematography Award In Memory of Franco Proto. This award was established to pay tribute to Franco Proto a cinematographer for Rai and for Raffaella Carrà who passed away just a few months ago.
The Best Cinematography Award at the Melting Pot Festival will therefore be dedicated to his memory, ensuring that the use of light, visual exploration, and the ability to tell stories through images continue to live on in the works of emerging filmmakers.
The short film or documentary winning the "Franco Proto Best Cinematography" award will receive a prize worth €1,000 in film equipment, provided by World VideoRentals(https://www.worldvideorentals.com/).
The prize must be redeemed within 12 months of the award date; it will no longer be valid after this period.
JOIN THE FUSION • THE MELTING POT FILM FESTIVAL • STAY TUNED JOIN THE FUSION • STAY TUNED •
meltingpotfilmfestival@gmail.com