Mihaela Tudorof is a divorced, single mother with two teens that are the center of her world. She’s also a writer, director, and executive producer of her film Family Hug, in which she stars as the lead.
-Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with cinema?
I’ve always loved cinema and working in the industry has always been my passion.
-Tell us about your project “Family Hug”.
Inspired by my own divorce, I decided to make this film in hopes that people getting divorced will be more aware of the pain they’re causing their own kids during the process. Family Hug is about a woman going through a contentious divorce with a narcissist who wants to destroy her at all cost, even though his own children are collateral damage. The message of the film is that no matter how much you despise the person you’re divorcing, your hatred for the other parent should not be stronger than the love for your children. Family Hug is currently doing well in the film festival circuit. We have won 15 awards so far, 2 honorable mentions, and have 5 official selections. But we’re just getting started, so many more to come!
-Which Director inspires you the most?
Martin Scorsese is my favorite Director of all time. I love all his films.
-What do you dislike about the world and what would you change?
Children suffering in any way shape or form is something that hurts my heart. Parents that abuse or neglect their children make me sick. I believe in gentle parenting as opposed to harsh discipline. People often mistake hitting for discipline. To me, hitting is abuse, not discipline. I believe children do better with love and patience. I think hitting children really damages them well into their adulthood. I believe it either creates an abusive adult or you become someone who allows abuse in your relationship due to it feeling familiar, like your childhood.
-How do you imagine cinema in 100 years?
I think there will be a ton of artificial intelligence and movies may lose heart. I hope I’m wrong.
-What is your impression of WILD FILMMAKER?
Truly amazing, and passionate about the film industry.
BEST INTERNATIONAL WEB/TV SERIES, BEST PRODUCER & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Web/Tv Series)
Wacko
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE OF THE YEAR, BEST INDIE FILMMAKER, BEST SCREENPLAY & BEST AMERICAN PRODUCTION COMPANY
Brothers of Babylon
BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER
A Fable Before Apocalypse
BES INTERNATIONAL YOUNG FILMMAKER
Marabu’
BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
Stalker Hair Twirl
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR
In a Whole New Way
BEST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL FILM, BEST INDIE PRODUCER & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING
Revisited – Life is Short
BEST DIRECTOR (Category; International Music Video) & BEST ARTHOUSE MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
The Victims of Sundarbans
BEST DIRECTOR, BEST INDIE PRODUCTION COMPANY & BEST CAMERA OPERATOR (Category: Documentary Short)
The Musgrave Ritual
BEST ARTHOUSE FILM, BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR, BEST SOUND DESIGN & BEST CAST
On My Special Day
BEST ORIGINAL SHORT FILM, BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER & BEST SCREENPLAY SHORT
Aunt Tilly’s Last Hurrah
BEST PRODUCER, BEST SCREENWRITER & BEST SOUND LOCATION (Category: International Narrative Short Film)
Dragul and Forbes
BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCRIPT 2025
Attack Of The Snowbirds
BEST FEATURE SCRIPT (Category: Comedy) & BEST AMERICAN ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER 2025
Mind Network
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 2025
Pantaneiro
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 2025
The Days of Knight: Chapter 3
BEST ORIGINAL NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SOUND DESIGN, BEST CASTING DIRECTOR & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY SHORT (Category: International Short Film)
The Days of Knight: Chapter 1
BEST ORIGINAL IDEA, BEST INDIE SCREENWRITER & BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE PRODUCTION COMPANY
Homeless Street Artist
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT, BEST SOCIAL DOCUMENTARY & BEST INTERNATIONAL MOVIEMAKER
Omnipotent Resolution
BEST INTERNATIONAL MUSICAL SHORT FILM, BEST ORIGINAL CHOREOGRAPHY, BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER & BEST PRODUCER
2 Million Bro
BEST EUROPEAN COMEDY OF THE YEAR
Into LA Art Show
BEST EDITING
Shout It Out
BEST DIRECTOR & BEST EDITING (Category: International Music Video)
Not a thing
BEST INTERNATIONAL FIRST TIME DIRECTOR
Cock Robin
BEST FILMMAKER, BEST EDITING & BEST SCREENPLAY (Category: Indie Comedy 2025)
The Priory of Sion and the treasure of Abbey Sauniere of Rennes the Castle France
BEST EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2025
Etnoragù
BEST EUROPEAN INDIE SHORT FILM, BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY SHORT & BEST INDIE EUROPEAN MOVIEMAKER
America Boxed In
BEST ARTHOUSE DOCUMENTARY & BEST FILMMAKER 2025 (Category: Documentary Feature)
An Ever After Drama
BEST AMERICAN SHORT FILM OF YEAR & BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER
2020: life and death of a virus
BEST EUROPEAN PRODUCER, BEST EUROPEAN FILMMAKER & BEST ARTHOUSE EDITOR (Category: Indie Experimental Film)
Walking With God
BEST ORIGINAL NARRATIVE FEATURE & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Indie Film)
Cassandra Venice
BEST DIRECTOR, BEST INDIE PRODUCER (Category: Experimental Film) & BEST EUROPEAN EXPERIMENTAL FILM
Virulence
BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ORIGINAL WRITER 2025
Ambrogio The First Vampire
BEST INDIE ACTOR & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA
Phoebe’s Echo
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE FEATURE, BEST SCREENWRITER, BEST INDIE PRODUCER & BEST CASTING DIRECTOR
All My Tomorrows
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE DRAMA 2025, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SCREENPLAY & BEST CAST (Category: International Drama)
YOU ARE HERE – a dylan brody project
BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR, BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE NARRATIVE FEATURE & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING
Errata in blue
BEST EDITING & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Category: EXPERIMENTAL FILM)
Because We Are Too Many
BEST ARTHOUSE DRAMA 2025 & BEST FILMMAKER (Category: International Drama)
Artists & Aliens
BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR, BEST SOUNDTRACK & BEST SOUND DESIGN
Soularis
BEST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Medea
BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST INDIE MOVIEMAKER, BEST CAST & BEST ORIGINAL INDIE SCREENWRITER
GODFORSAKEN: A Story Of Three Marys
BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT
PAULA’S DAD and the right button in his head
BEST INDIE SHORT FILM 2025
Seasoning of the Soul
BEST ORIGINAL NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR, BEST CASTING DIRECTOR & BEST SCREENPLAY (Category: Narrative Short)
Chateau De Tarot
BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST INDIE SCREENWRITER 2025
Colombano & La 21Esima Fetta
BEST EUROPEAN NARRATIVE FEATURE & BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR
A Fable Before Apocalypse
BEST FILMMAKER & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING (Category: Short Film)
Thankful
BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT 2025 & BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE SCREENWRITER
Bitter Brownies
BEST INDIE MOVIEMAKER (Category: International Narrative Short)
Prodigio
BEST INDIE MUSIC VIDEO & BEST ORIGINAL SINGER
Fortezza
BEST SONG WRITER 2025 & BEST EUROPEAN SPIRITUAL SONG
Monument to Love
BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER 2025, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST ARTHOUSE EDITING (Category: Documentary Feature)
Katabasis
BEST ARTHOUSE FILM OF THE YEAR, BEST SCREENPLAY (Category: Narrative Feature), BEST ACTRESS, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: International Film)
Black Wolf
BEST ORIGINAL INDIE SHORT FILM & BEST ORIGINAL MOVIEMAKER
The way of Mizoguchi
BEST CAMERA OPERATOR & BEST EUROPEAN PRODUCTION COMPANY (Category: Documentary Feature)
The Rorschach Test
BEST DIRECTOR & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Category: International Experimental Film)
Not Without Gloves
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM OF THE YEAR
NeverWere: a Lycan Love Story
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA
Out Of Control
BEST EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana
BEST INTERNATIONAL VIDEO POETRY, BEST FILMMAKER, BEST ARTHOUSE CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST SOUND DESIGN (Category: Video Poetry)
Sheldon Mashugana gets Stooged
BEST ARTHOUSE COMEDY, BEST SCREENPLAY & BEST CAST (Category: International Comedy)
Mind over Matter
BEST FILMMAKER, BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST ARTHOUSE PRODUCER (Category: Super Short Film)
The Dead Ringer
BEST WRITER & BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT
L’Amour est temps de reflets
BEST ORIGINAL EUROPEAN FILMMAKER & BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENPLAY SHORT
The Duchess
BEST DRAMA 2025, DIRECTOR, BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS, BEST CASTING DIRECTOR & BEST SCEENPLAY (Category: International Arthouse Drama)
Lambada The Dance of Fate
BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR & BEST INTERNATIONAL BIOGRAPHICAL SCRIPT
Eye of the Storm
BEST DIRECTOR, BEST EDITING (Category: Documentary) BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY & BEST ARARTHOUSE PRODUCER
The Arcangel Of Death
BEST ACTING & BEST EUROPEAN YOUNG DIRECTOR
Alta California
BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST HUMAN RIGHTS SCRIPT OF THE YEAR
Ghost Town, N.M.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENWRITER
Only in Malibu
BEST INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITER (Category: International Indie Feature Script)
Gold Glory & Nobility
BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST INTERNATIONAL BOOK
Malibu Madam
BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ORIGINAL WRITER
The Hallmark Couple
BEST AMERICAN SCREENWRITER 2025
The Insomnia Experiment
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT SCRIPT 2025
Something ain’t right
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR & BEST ORIGINAL INDIE FILMMAKER
Planetary Rebellion
BEST PRODUCER & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Music Video)
Am I a painter?/Czy jestem malarzem?
BEST ORIGINAL ANIMATION, BEST POETRY SHORT FILM & BEST NARRATIVE SHORT OF THE YEAR (Category: Animation)
The Stones of Rome
BEST EXPERIMENTAL ACTOR & BEST INDIE PRODUCER 2025
The Pathos of Hamlet
BEST INSPIRATIONAL SHORT FILM, BEST EXPERIMENTAL EDITING & BEST POETRY SHORT FILM
Antiquarius
BEST EUROPEAN NARRATIVE SHORT 2025, BEST ARTHOUSE CINEMATOGRAPHER, BEST INDIE FILMMAKER, BEST INDIE CASTING DIRECTOR & BEST EUROPEAN ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY SHORT
Belles paroles
BEST HUMAN RIGHTS INDIE PROJECT
Nossos Caminhos
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT
Routine
BEST PRODUCER, BEST ORIGINAL IDEA & BEST NARRATIVE SHORT 2025
The Assassin’s Apprentice 2: Silbadores of the Canary Islands
BEST ORIGINAL SHORT FILM, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SCREENPLAY SHORT & BEST ACTING (Category: International Indie Narrative Short Film)
In a Whole New Way
BEST SOCIAL FILM, BEST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL FILM, BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER, BEST EDITING & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Category: Educational Film)
Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir By Max Rothschild and Dr. Shulamit Reinharz
With Timeline – How Cinema Tells Time – From the Crystal Image to the Tamed Image, published by Non Solo Parole Edizioni, with which I published the critical essay The Interrupted Applause – Poetry and Periphery in the Work of Massimo Troisi in 2005, I wanted to explore and develop a theme that is very dear to me, already present as a thematic prompt in my latest cinematic and narrative works: the true nature of Time. I enjoyed revisiting and reworking studies I started at the Department of Music and Performing Arts at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Siena, where I graduated in 1999, trying to extend the analysis to contemporary cinema and to the productive and expressive crisis of a large part of Italian cinema. I have thus concluded that Cinema is the only art capable of revealing the mystery of Time, as long as it is free from the constraints of the market. Therefore, while modern cinema has focused on the more or less conscious representation of Time – after the classical cinema saw movement and the logic of actions as its expressive core – on the other hand, especially in Italy, the flattening of production practices has led to the rise of a “tamed image,” one that is dedicated to presenting a simplified and impoverished version of the world, directly influenced by the social-television dogma.
The essay then reviews the entire history of Cinema, focusing on the expressive modes of the cinema of Time, on its ability to distance itself from an image of the world that is programmatically imposed, to then identify in the “tamed image” its reactionary variant, more interested in convenient clichés, in self-replication, in the forced preservation of the known world. From the first experiments of the Lumière brothers and Méliès to the films that have irreparably marked our imagination, such as Last Year at Marienbad, Back to the Future, and Interstellar, with a glance at the TV series that have changed our way of perceiving reality, such as Heimat, Twin Peaks, and Dark.
Moving between Deleuze, Bergson, Heidegger, and Nietzsche, the essay explores the true nature of time, certainly different from the chrono-logical one we are used to believing in. It then analyzes the systemic trends of contemporary cinema and its state of expressive crisis, particularly in Italy, identifying the “tamed image” as a sign of flattening and impoverishment of storytelling. It ends by posing the most important question: what is reality, really? Because answering the question “what is Time, really?” is equivalent to asking what is the reality we call “reality.” How much of it is objective? Is it almost entirely the result of a crossroad of imposed perceptions, both from our subjectivity and from the inputs launched by mass communication?
It becomes undeniable, then, that loving Cinema means believing in its analytical and re-elaborative capacities regarding the lived reality. Thus, it is essential to fight for the freedom of Cinema from consumer practices, from the lobbies that hold a significant part of its production, and from the visions dictated by social-television conditioning. In conclusion, Cinema emerges as an art that requires constant questioning, a new restoration, an analysis that never settles for what’s been seen or said before, but that strives with all its might to penetrate the veil of finality and artificial theatricality that covers the truth of things, assuming that such a truth may exist.
This essay, then, is imbued with passion for Cinema, aimed at enthusiasts, experts, scholars, students, and anyone who wants to discover what Cinema is, and, above all, what Time is.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT (Category: Comedy) & BEST AMERICAN SCREENWRITER
Something ain’t right
BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Documentary) BEST CAMERA OPERATOR & BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE PRODUCER
Homeless Street Artist
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT 2025, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST EDITING & BEST CAMERA OPERATOR (Category: Documentary Short Film)
Planetary Rebellion
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE MUSIC VIDEO & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Music Video)
The Bag
BEST ORIGINAL NARRATIVE SHORT FILM, BEST FILMMAKER, BEST PRODUCTION COMPANY & BEST INDIE SCREENWRITER
You Are Here – A Dylan Brody Project
BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE FEATURE, BEST INDIE FILMMAKER 2025, BEST PRODUCTION COMPANY & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING
The Arcangel Of Death
BEST FANTASY SHORT FILM, BEST INTERNATIONAL ACTOR & BEST EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATOGRAPHER
Passacaglia
BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE, BEST DIRECOR & BEST INDIE PRODUCER (Category: International Film)
Lambada The Dance of Fate
BEST WRITING STYLE, BEST SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR & BEST BIOGRAPHICAL SCRIPT
Cassandra Venice
BEST EUROPEAN DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR & BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENPLAY
Three for Hire
BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT
The Bag
BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SCREENPLAY SHORT, BEST CAST & BEST SOUND DESIGN (Category: Indie Narrative Short)
Mind over Matter
BEST DIRECTOR & BEST EDITING (Category: Super Short Film)
The Girl Made of Earth and Water
BEST INTERNATIONAL SUPER SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR
Wax Colors
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE SCREENPLAY
Riding on Duke’s Train
BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR, BEST SOCIAL FILM, BEST ORIGINAL PRODUCER & BEST ORIGINAL SCRIPT
Am I a painter?/Czy jestem malarzem?
BEST FILMMAKER, BEST EDITING & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Category: ANIMATION)
Alta California
BEST HISTORICAL SCRIPT & BEST HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENWRITER
Pirandello’s Wife
BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT
Thankful
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT 2025 & BEST ORIGINAL WRITER
The Assassin’s Apprentice 2: Silbadores of the Canary Islands
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT 2025, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST PRODUCER, BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY & BEST AMERICAN CAST
Routine
BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT FILM, BEST INDIE MOVIEMAKER, BEST SOUND DESIGN & BEST CASTING DIRECTOR
Talita l’abbandono
BEST POETRY SHORT FILM, BEST EUROPEAN DIRECTOR & BEST ARTHOUSE EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCER
It’s the Gravy
BEST SCREENWRITER, BEST MOVIEMAKER & BEST EDITING (Category: COMEDY)
The Hallmark Couple
BEST AMERICAN SCREENWRTER & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA (Category: FEATURE SCRIPT)
Only in Malibu
BEST BOOK/MANUSCRIPT OF THE YEAR
Only in Malibu
BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT
The Insomnia Experiment
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT SCRIPT 2025
Gold Glory & Nobility
BEST WRITING STYLE & BEST INTERNATIONAL WRITER (Category: BOOK/MANUSCRIPT)
Gold Glory & Nobility
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE SCREENPLAY
Malibu Madam
BEST ORIGINAL BOOK & BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT
The Days of Knight: Chapter 3
BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR, BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATOGRAPHER, BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY SHORT & BEST INTERNAIONAL INDIE PRODUCTION COMPANY
Eye of the Storm
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE, BEST ARTHOUSE EDITING & BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR 2025
The Stones of Rome
BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT FILM & BEST PRODUCER
The Pathos of Hamlet
BEST INSPIRATIONAL ACTOR & BEST ORIGINAL ACTING
NeverWere: a Lycan Love Story
BEST ORIGINAL SCRIPT, BEST FEATURE SCRIPT 2025 & BEST INTERNATIONAL WRITER
I Waited for You
BEST EXPERIMENTAL EDITING & BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE EXPERIMENTAL FILM
Katabasis
BEST DIRECTOR, BEST INSPIRATIONAL FILM & BEST INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY
Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding
BEST FILM, BEST DIRECTOR & BEST SCREENPLAY (Category: International Comedy)
Doctor Hyphoteses
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACTOR & BEST ARTHOUSE COMEDY 2025
Not Without Gloves
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE FILMMAKER, BEST EXPERIMENTAL EDITING & BEST INSPIRATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Rorschach Test
BEST POETRY SHORT FILM & BEST EXPERIMENTAL MOVIEMAKER
The Duchess
BEST ARTHOUSE DRAMA, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST CASTING DIRECTOR & BEST ARTHOUSE PRODUCER
Colombano & La 21Esima Fetta
BEST MOVIEMAKER, BEST EUROPEAN FILM & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (Category: Narrative Feature)
An easy question to start with (naturally, I’m being ironic!), but I’ll still try to explain myself better—knowing full well I’ll fail. How can one define oneself? It almost feels criminal to attempt defining a shifting nature. Yet… I am a singer-songwriter related to poetry: a multifaceted singer-songwriter, a being capable of rapidly adapting to its surroundings. Perhaps that’s why I feel a certain affection for the chameleon. I used to do my makeup by drawing its tail beside my eyes. Still, deep down, there’s a part of me that remains loyal to itself, immutable, eternal. I am a kind of perpetual paradox. Beyond metaphors, practically speaking, I’m a musician who experiments and is closely tied to other art forms. I cross boundaries, composing across various representational planes—not just notes, not just sounds. I’m a composer and singer-songwriter with a vision that stretches into theater, poetry, contemporary art, and even cinema. I’ve written songs for myself and others, produced albums and created soundtracks for theater and film, crafted digital art sets for my shows and for others, and performed my music throughout Italy and abroad—from Asia to the United States, naturally passing through Europe. So yes, I’m also a curious traveler. I’ve coined many terms in an attempt to describe myself appropriately. The latest is “cantapoeta” (singer-poet). I like it for now—it sounds right. We’re almost there, but I must mention philosophy, the field in which I earned my degree and specialization with a thesis on Schopenhauer. Philosophy, in a way, saved me—smoothing out the precarious balance among the different parts of myself, curbing the dangerous extremes, and harmonizing reality with dreams. And that’s a never-ending task, in fieri… … the magical work of living and becoming self-aware.
-) When did you realize that music would define every aspect of your life?
I think I already knew at age five, around the time I started studying classical piano and instinctively began composing short instrumental pieces—despite having no knowledge of music theory or extensive training on the instrument. The same thing happened with writing essays at school. While my classmates would stare at a blank page, I, quick and fearless, would fill it in an instant. It was like a beautiful race, me and my inspiration running together. Then society—with its rules and conventions—tried to make me forget that deep, intimate self-perception… but it failed miserably. Fortunately, the songs prevailed. A voice, a light, an untamable inner song has always guided, inspired, and empowered me. The stubbornness of Capricorn, my zodiac sign, surely did the rest. There were also crucial encounters and collaborations with great music legends who recognized my worth and helped boost my self-esteem and public recognition. First and foremost, Lucio Dalla, one of the greatest Italian singer-songwriters ever. The super producers Mauro Malavasi and Corrado Rustici — they also lived in the United States. Malavasi, among other things, produced for Bocelli, while Rustici worked as a producer with Aretha Franklin… I can’t leave out “the alien” Red Ronnie, a charismatic figure you at WILD FILMMAKER recently interviewed—one of the most original music journalists and communicators ever. He has always supported and promoted me—we care deeply for one another. He, who interviewed Jimi Hendrix (and owned his guitar), Bowie, Harrison, Fidel Castro, and many more… Last but not least… Bologna, the city I chose to live in: an ancient university and art city, mystical and magical, played a big role in my destiny. It gave me inspiration and awareness, also through encounters with gifted artists and musicians in whom I recognized myself—as kin. Life is marked by magical encounters: recognizing one’s kindred spirits—or as Goethe called them, “elective affinities”—helps us understand where we come from, who our soul family is, and where we’re headed. It also helps us have, as Pier Paolo Pasolini would say, “the courage to shine.”
-) Tell us about your special concert taking place at the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, your adopted city.
This concert feels like one of the most meaningful and important of my life and artistic journey—as a musician and as a cantapoeta. We’re talking about a sacred, monumental place: a Gothic basilica that hides mysterious details even in its aesthetics. San Petronio in Bologna is the last great late Gothic work in Italy, started just after the Milan Cathedral in 1386. The façade is partially unfinished, which gives it a strong dualism: shining white marble at the bottom, and dark, exposed brick above. When I looked at it—especially at night—it reminded me of the face in Munch’s The Scream. The large window looks like an open mouth in a cry of pain, the side aisles like hands on a face (the central nave). Easier to see than explain… Anyway, in this vast basilica, I said my final goodbye to my dear friend and mentor Lucio Dalla.
For years, I think I avoided entering it to not relive that painful farewell… and later, because it was even at risk of terrorist threats. However, some places call us back—and we must return. When I was invited to hold a concert for Peace as part of a major exhibition by Catalan sculptor Juan Crous—who reimagined Picasso’s Guernica in a massive sculpture made of glass tiles—I thought: how lucky am I? This concert is and will be a gift, a blessing—for me and for those who attend. The desire for peace that fuels it is the noblest of causes, and it must be cultivated and grown. I’m working on the setlist now. I’ll perform solo, just me and the piano—my long-time friend and confidant. I’ll draw inspiration from the aura of the place and the energy of the souls present. And there will be many… May 12, 2025 will be a historic date for me—a turning point, a new baptism. I’m grateful, happy, full of enthusiasm and joy.
-) What would you change about the world?
Simple: No more wars. No more oppression. No more violence. No more deception. We must learn to dream “marvelous utopias” again: to find the missing beauty, to thirst for justice and truth. We should give ourselves the luxury—and powerful gift—of dreaming again, lighthearted and a bit wild, like children… free to imagine and shape the world we want to live in. I believe in the magical art of words and visualization. So I try to imagine boundless beauty, powerful harmony, human connection, philanthropy, choirs of angels (with a few off notes—imperfection is necessary…). I stubbornly dream of Peace, Beauty, Art, Lush Nature, Joy in living, Joy in existing. These words, mind you, are not abstractions—they are realities we’ve forgotten how to dream, to even conceive.
-) When you hear the word “soul,” what comes to mind?
In one of my songs I say: “The soul is an animal, and it dwells beyond good and evil.” That’s what I believe—it’s a living thing, in motion, also appearing as sacred animal visions or totems. If I don’t think and just follow instinct, I see a shimmering light moving across crystal-clear water—a light dancing on the water’s surface…
-) What do you think of WILD FILMMAKER?
You are amazing! And without exaggeration, I’d even say that you feel a bit like family. Staying on the theme of “elective affinities,” I feel related to you: an indomitable yet supportive community. You’re a beautiful paradox that is and will continue to impact the reality of cinema today and in the future. Everyone should know about WILD FILMMAKER , a platform with which I’ve already built a valuable relationship of mutual respect and original collaborations. Honestly, I hope this connection continues. The journey of mutual discovery felt immediately interesting, even predestined… I believe it will keep surprising us. Wishing the best to the entire community—visionary, like its founder.
Navy international film festival ( Best producer )
Sharjah International Film Festival, ( BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM )
Sharjah International Film Festival ( BEST DIRECTOR )
Saudi Arabia Independent Film Festival ( BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM , BEST DIRECTOR, BEST PRODUCER
Ajman International Film Festival ( BEST PRODUCER , BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM , BEST DIRECTOR , BEST EDITOR , BEST SOUND DESIGN , BEST POSTER , BEST TRAILER )
Robinson Film Awards (International Film Festival)
Riffa International Film Festival ( BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM , BEST DIRECTOR, BEST PRODUCER )
Faten hamama film festival jury Award
/EasternEuropeFilmFestival. Best Director
Rome International Movie Awards Best Director
Madrid intarnationl movie awards Best DRAMA
Muscuat intarnationl film festival BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM , BEST writter, BEST PRODUCER
Zeal International Film Festival ( IMDb Paris) Best Original Music – “Magic Moment”
The World Class Film Awards IMDb
-Best Oceanian Project –“ Magic Moment”
-Best Song – “Silence”
-Best Music Video – “You’re Safe With Me”
“Indie Oscar Awards 2025” USA – Best original song “Running Out Of Time” In the International music video category- – Best Arthouse Project – Best Indie Producer
“Magic Moment” Bronze Medal in the Global Music Awards! March 2025
“Canadian International Indie Film Critics Awards 2025” Best original song “You’re Safe With Me” – Best Arthouse Song – Best Original Sound Designer – Best International Singer
“Magic Moment” Kyoto Cinematic Film Festival 2025, JAPAN! Best Music Video – “Magic Moment”
“25 Steps” winner in the CLOUZINE International Music Awards Spring 2025!
“Running Out Of Time” Winner International Music Video Category… Wild Filmmakers Awards, Special Event at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival – Best Indie Arthouse Project – Best Indie Producer
“Right Now” SCANDINAVIAN Film Critics Awards, Helsinki, Finland!
The World Class Film Awards – March 2025 -Best Oceanian Project – “Magic Moment” -Best Song – “Silence” -Best Music Video – “You’re Safe With Me”
“Bellagio New Cinema” from the World Film Festival 2025 – Best Original Indie Song – “Magic Moment”
The Hollywood Indie Film Critics Awards
Best Indie Music Video – “Magic Moment”
– Best Sound Designer
The LIT Music Awards 2024 – Best Adult Contemporary – “You’re Safe With Me” – Studeo
The Hawaii Film Awards 2024 “Silence” – Best Original Music Video “You’re Safe With Me”- Best Original Music
Zeal International Film Festival IMDb (Paris) 2024 Best Original Music – Studeo – “You’re Safe With Me”
Clown International Film Festival 2024 – “Magic Moment”
Filmnest International Film Festival 2024 – “Silence”
Zeal International Film Festival IMDb (Paris) 2024
Best Original Music September 2024, “Silence”
Filmnest International Film Festival 2024, “You’re Safe With Me”
Best Original Music – Studeo – “You’re Safe With Me”
Frida Film Festival 2024– “You’re Safe With Me”
One Earth Awards 2024– “Silence”
8 & Halfilm awards- “When It’s Over”
International Songwriters Day Song Contest – “Find Your Detsiny”
International Network Film Festival 2024 – “When It’s Over”
Frida Film Festival 2024 – “When It’s Over”
Wild Filmaker Festival 2024 – Award Winner – “Right Now”
