PAOLO DI MAIO about-bio

Paolo Di Maio (born 1971 in Civitavecchia, Italy) is an award-winning Italian film director, screenwriter, and production designer whose work spans fiction, animation, and documentary.
Though born in Civitavecchia, Di Maio’s origins are tied to Ortona dei Marsi in Abruzzo, the village where his grandfather was born, a place profoundly dear to him and central to his creative identity.
This deep emotional connection to Abruzzo, its landscapes, history, and spirit often shapes the heart of his storytelling.
Over the course of his career, Di Maio has lived and worked across Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, the United States, and Pakistan, cultivating a distinctly international creative vision. Fluent in five languages, Italian, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, he brings to each project a rare blend of cultural insight and cinematic precision.
As the founder and creative director of GATO Studios, based in Abruzzo, Di Maio has written and directed a diverse slate of feature documentaries, animated shorts, and television campaigns, as well as distinctive title sequences for major series.
His recent works include the feature documentary Red Bird – Giulio Petrilli Racconta and the upcoming wartime feature film La Pagina Sportiva, set in 1943 in Abruzzo. Recognized for his emotionally resonant storytelling and refined visual style, Di Maio’s films are marked by a deeply human sensibility and a commitment to crafting stories that transcend borders. His approach to cinema is rooted in the belief that film is a universal language — poetic, courageous, and profoundly alive.

“Paolo Di Maio reveals two distinct artistic profiles, one subtle and delicate, the other powerful, vigorous, almost violent. Both, however, are united by spontaneity, inspiration, study, and experience. His work moves effortlessly between poetry and structure, emotion and reason, a dialogue between instinct and intellect that defines his creative language.”
- Emanuel von Lauenstein Massarani, art critic, journalist, writer & historian

Di Maio’s cinema is a meeting of poetry and precision, every frame feels painted, every silence charged with meaning. His work belongs to that rare kind of filmmaker who observes humanity with tenderness yet frames it through the uncompromising lens of truth.”
- Giulia Ferrandi, Film Critic, LUMINA

“Few contemporary artists move so freely between disciplines. Paolo Di Maio brings the soul of a sculptor, the eye of a painter, and the heart of a storyteller to everything he creates. His films and artworks share a quiet intensity, a search for beauty that never loses sight of truth.”
- Lucas Andrade, Arts & Culture Journalist, Revista de Cinema Brasil

Paolo Di Maio creative journey began in the world of fine art. His works have been exhibited in numerous solo shows, including at the renowned Paulo Prado Gallery in São Paulo, Brazil, and are part of the Museum of Art of the State Parliament of São Paulo’s permanent collection. Educated at the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara, the International School of Geneva, and St. Clare’s College in Oxford, Paolo first established himself as a painter and sculptor, developing a lifelong fascination with form, light, and the human condition. He went on to build a prolific career as an Art Director and Creative Director for major international advertising agencies such as Young & Rubicam, and collaborated with Vogue Brazil. His passion for visual storytelling soon expanded to directing and writing television commercials, where he specialized in special makeup effects, animatronics, and title sequences for Brazilian television. This evolution naturally led him into animation, short films, documentaries, and feature films, often centered on human stories told with empathy and visual poetry. As a screenwriter, Paolo has received multiple international awards for Best Feature Script for La Pagina Sportiva, as well as Best Documentary for RED BIRD Giulio Petrilli Racconta, and for FAVELA The Law of Silence, recognized for his ability to blend emotional depth with cinematic precision. Today, as the founder of GATO Studios, based in the mountains of Abruzzo, Paolo continues to explore the intersection of art, cinema, and innovation, creating works that celebrate beauty, diversity, and the quiet power of imagination.

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