Paolo Benetazzo

Paolo Benetazzo
Born (1976-07-16) 16 July 1976 (age 48)
Vicenza, Veneto, Italy
Alma materUniversity of Padua
Occupation(s)Film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, actor, visual artist
Years active2007-present
Websitewww.paolobenetazzo.com

Paolo Benetazzo (born 16 July 1976) is an Italian film director, actor, screenwriter, producer, editor and visual artist.[1][2][3][4][5] He made his feature film directorial debut with Study (2012),[1][3] which has been screened and awarded at international film festivals worldwide.[2][6] Distinguished by a profound cinematic individualism, the film was entirely shot by Benetazzo without any film crew.[1][2][4] He is the founder of independent film production company ARTtouchesART.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

Benetazzo was born in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy.[5] At the age of 19 he began acting and filming while attending the University of Padua.[2][3][5] Experiencing a temporary conflict with the academic environment, he interrupted his studies for some years, picking up different jobs, until he eventually graduated in 2003 with a master's degree in psychology.[2][3][7]

Career

In 2007 after travelling around Europe and living in Dublin for a few years, Benetazzo started working on his feature film directorial debut. Discouraged by the Italian film industry, he moved to London and founded ARTtouchesART Films in 2012.[2][4][7]

Between 2007 and 2012 he wrote, produced, photographed and directed the independent film Study. He also starred in the lead role and composed the soundtrack.[2][5][7][8][9] Since its premiere in London in 2012,[1][3][10] the film has quickly developed a cult following among fans and audience.[2][3][4]

At the end of 2012 Benetazzo worked with artist Danny Sherwood in the production of "Bitter Ditty".[2][7][11] In 2013 he directed and edited the music video "Salamander" for rock band Mount Fabric[2][7][12][13] and "Like to Party" for electronic producer Cal Strange.[2][4][7] During the same year he also directed the short film Sense, which was selected in a number of film festivals including the Seattle Erotic Art Festival.[14] In 2015 Benetazzo directed the music video "Love me Hurt me" for French artist Oriana Curls.[15]

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Role Film Festivals and awards
2012 Study Actor (The student)
Director
Writer
Producer
  • Portobello Film Festival 2012: Nomination for Audience Award[16]
  • California Film Awards 2012: Winner Gold Award[17]
  • Accolade Competition 2013: Winner Award of Merit for Feature Film[18]
  • Accolade Competition 2013: Winner Award of Merit for Leading Actor[18]
  • Los Angeles Movie Awards 2013: Winner Honorable Mention[19]
  • SoCal Film Festival 2013: Official Selection[20]
  • Columbia Gorge International Film Festival 2014: Official Selection[21]
  • Cyprus International Film Festival 2014: Official Selection[22]

Short films

Year Title Role Film Festivals and awards
2013 Sense Director
Writer
Producer
Editor

Music videos

Year Title Artist Role Film Festivals
2012 "Bitter Ditty" Danny Sherwood Director
Writer
Editor
  • Art All Night Film Festival 2014: Official Selection
  • Rendezvous Film Festival 2015: Official Selection
2013 "Like to Party" Cal Strange Director
Writer
Editor
  • BBC Music Video Festival 2013: Official Selection[27]
  • SouthEastern Film Festival 2015: Official Selection[28]
  • Art All Night Film Festival 2015: Official Selection[29]
2013 "Salamander" Mount Fabric Director
Writer
Editor
  • Reel 13: Official Selection[30]
  • Three Cities Film Festival: Official Selection 2015[31]
  • SouthEastern Film Festival 2015: Official Selection[28]

Discography

Albums

Year Title Role
2012  Study Original Soundtrack Producer
Music composer

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Filmmaking with a Crew of One: Paolo Benetazzo's Study". Hopeforfilm.com. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Case Study: STUDY, a true independent film". Indienyc.com. December 9, 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "How to make a true independent film: one artist, one vision". Filmcourage.com. December 29, 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Movies: exclusive interview with Paolo Benetazzo". Moveoramablog.com. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d "Study: Paolo Benetazzo Interview". Battleroyalewithcheese.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Push the Boundaries of Your Creativity". Actioncutprint.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Behind the lense with Paolo Benetazzo". Beonthescene.com. January 10, 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  8. ^ "The making of Study by Paolo Benetazzo". Internationalmovietrailerfestival.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Study (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  10. ^ "London films". Portobello Film Festival. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  11. ^ "AltSounds Exclusive: Danny Sherwood-Bitter Ditty". Hangout.altsounds.com. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  12. ^ "Watch: Mount Fabric-Salamander". Beatsperminute.com. June 4, 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  13. ^ "New Music from Rosecoloured". Rosecoloured.com. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Erotic Art Festival 2014" (PDF). Seattleerotic.org. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  15. ^ ""Love Me Hurt Me" Oriana Curls - Interview". Goodnighttheskye.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
  16. ^ "Portobello Film Festival 2012: winners, shortlist and links to selected movies". Portobello film festival. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  17. ^ "California Film Awards 2012 Winners". California Film Awards. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Winners March 2013". Accolade Competition. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  19. ^ "LAMA 2013 Winners". Thelamovieawards.com. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  20. ^ "Official selection SoCal Film Festival 2013". Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  21. ^ "Official selection Columbia Gorge International Film Festival 2014". Angaelica.com. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  22. ^ "CYIFF 2014 programme" (PDF). Cyprus International Film Festival. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  23. ^ "Official selection Bad Film Fest 2014". Badtheaterfest.com. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  24. ^ "Chéries-Chéris Film Festival 2014". Cheries-cheris.com. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  25. ^ "Sense | NACHTSCHATTEN BDSM/Fetisch Film Festival". www.nachtschatten-filmfest.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  26. ^ "Programa Completo RFF2015 | Rural FilmFest". www.ruralfilmfest.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  27. ^ "BBC Music Video Festival". bbcmusicvideofestival.tumblr.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  28. ^ a b "Film |". southeasternfilm.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  29. ^ "International Film Festival". Art All Night - Trenton. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  30. ^ "Salamander - Reel 13". www.thirteen.org. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  31. ^ "Three Cities Fest". www.threecitiesfest.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.