GIUSEPPE MARCO ALBANO
He was born in 1985 in Cisternino, in the province of Bari. He studied art, theater, cinema and new media at the University of Parma. Screenwriter and director, at 17 he made his first documentary. Later he worked in theater, cabaret, and as assistant director on various Italian sets. In 2008 he founded the cultural association "Basiliciak". Among his works, the short film THE CUTE HAT, selected in numerous international festivals including the Giffoni Film Festival and nominated for the 2009 Golden Globes as the best Italian short film. His following short film XIE ZI (2010) was also presented in Giffoni and selected among the finalists of the 2011 Silver Ribbon while STAND BY ME (2011) was a David di Donatello nominee in 2011 and winner of the Silver Ribbon for the best Italian short film. In 2012 the film UNA DOMENICA NOTTE (from the homonymous song by Brunori Sas), marks his debut in independent feature films. In 2013 he received the Massimo Troisi Prize and in the same year he presented the short film ANNA at the 70th Venice Film Festival. In 2014 he produced, wrote and directed the short film THRILLER, previewed at the Giffoni Film Festival 2014 and destined to receive over 80 national and international awards including the David di Donatello in 2015. In the same year Giuseppe founded, together with his closest collaborators, Mediterraneo Cinematografica, an independent film company and received the Rodolfo Valentino Award as an up and coming talent in Italian cinema. In 2016 he was appointed as the artistic director of the "Soundies Awards" of Casa Sanremo (a contest for the record labels participating in the 66th Italian Song Festival) and represented Italy at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in the "Les Nuits en Or" review, receiving the Gold Medal for Cinema from Claudia Cardinale. Since October 2016 he has directed the prestigious Tenco Prize.