Calabrisella Films

Calabrisella Films was founded by actress Lucia Grillo with the scope of writing and directing films produced between the US and Italy — specifically the Region of Calabria — that reflect socioeconomic conditions that could be anywhere in the world, by focusing on one little corner of it, and hopefully, touching people on a profoundly human level.

The first Calabrisella Films project, the short film A pena do pana (The Cost of Bread), features late actor Vincent Schiavelli (Ghost, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus), and had its World Premiere at AFI FEST in Los Angeles. The film was awarded Best Digital Short at the Roma Independent Film Festival 2005 and garnered Grillo an Ambassador of Calabria Award from the Presidents of the Calabria and Lazio Regions, for diffusion of calabrian culture through cinema. A pena do pana (The Cost of Bread) aired on the program La 25° Ora on Italy's national La 7 channel, and has been an official selection of countless international film festivals worldwide.

The second Calabrisella Films short, Ad Ipponion (Ode to Hipponion), also shot on location in Calabria, Italy, was an Official Selection of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner. It has been shown at several film festivals throughout Italy.

Terra sogna terra (Earth Dream Earth) is a tender, heartwarming feature-length documentary in which older Italian immigrants and younger generations of Italian descent tell the stories behind their passion for vegetable gardening and their bond to the earth/Earth. The DVD is available directly through Calabrisella Films.

Calabrisella Films' first narrative feature-length script A Tigered Calm (‘Na calma tigrata) is a risky, never-before-seen story, taking place through several heated summers between Calabria and New York.

Inquiries welcome. For more information visit www.atigeredcalm.com

Lucia Grillo

Download resume (pdf)

Lucia studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York for seven years, beginning with their Young People's Program at the age of 15. She obtained her BFA in Acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and minored in Italian Literature at NYU's Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, where she was also an Assistant Fellow.

As an actress, writer, director, and producer, Lucia has worked in theatre, cinema and television, in English, Italian and French.

A member of the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA and Actors Equity, Lucia has worked as a film actress for directors such as Spike Lee (Summer of Sam; Finlandia Vodka TV spot/Europe); Tony Gilroy (Duplicity); Barry Alexander Brown; and actor Vincent Schiavelli, amongst others.

Founding Calabrisella Films, Lucia wrote and directed the short film A pena do pana (The Cost of Bread), starring late actor Vincent Schiavelli (Ghost, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus) and featuring original music by Sergio Cammariere (Winner San Remo Festival). A pena do pana (The Cost of Bread) World Premiered at AFI FEST in Los Angeles, was awarded Best Digital Short at the Roma Independent Film Festival, and garnered Lucia an Ambassador of Calabria title from the Presidents of the Calabria and Lazio Regions for diffusion of calabrian culture through cinema. A pena do pana (The Cost of Bread) aired on the program La 25° Ora on Italy's national La 7 channel and has been an official selection of over 20 international film festivals.

Lucia's second short, Pop Machine (which she co-directed and played the lead), was in competition at various international festivals from Hawaii throughout the U.S. to India, and was selected by the IFP/Chicago Short Cuts Program.

Her third short as writer-director-producer-actress, Ad Ipponion (Ode to Hipponion), the second in her "Calabria" series, was an Official Selection of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner.

Currently Associate Producer and Correspondent of Italics (CUNY TV, TW Channel 75 NYC), dedicated to Italian and Italian American culture, Lucia produces, directs, edits, and conducts on-camera interviews in both English and Italian. Lucia produced and directed Italics' hour-long specials, "Jukebox," featuring interviews with Italian musical icons Vinicio Capossela and Jovanotti and New York’s own legendary NYHC band Killing Time. She has also produced videos for i-Italy.

In recent theatre, Lucia played to sold out audiences in the acclaimed original play, Terranova at the NY Fringe Festival, which went on to be selected for the festival’s Encore Series. She also shared the stage with esteemed fellow actors of both stage and screen at the Cherry Lane Theatre. She is a member of the 68 Cent Crew Theatre Company, for whose premiere NYC production she is directing a one-act play, "Old Wife Tale."

Lucia’s teaching experience includes Professor of Devised Performance at LAMDA - Rome/University of Malta; lecturer on cinema and acting at various universities in the U.S. and Italy; film festival juror, and honorary awards presenter at various international film festivals.

Lucia directs music videos, most recently Kings Destroy’s The Toe and The Mountie. She has also produced & directed short-form TV pilots (Italy) and edited promotional videos. She produced and hosted Behind the Scenes, a weekly live-streaming show on Dolce Channel in which she shared in-depth conversations about the various crafts within the world of cinema and theatre, such as actor-director Michael Imperioli and many other distinguished guests.

Lucia’s feature-length documentary, Terra sogna terra (Earth Dream Earth), inspired by her own roots, tells the stories of elderly Italian immigrants who recount of their uprooting and – along with younger people of Italian descent – express their passion for gardening and their bond to the earth/Earth.

A Tigered Calm (‘Na calma tigrata), a unique and intriguing never-before-seen story, set between Calabria and New York, is the subject of Lucia's feature-length screenplay, currently in development. Inquiries welcome! For more information, visit www.atigeredcalm.com.

Lucia's actor and TV host/correspondent reels can be seen on YouTube as well as on the reels page of this website along with her director reel.