Jonas Carpignano

Jonas Carpignano, born January 16, 1984, is an American-Italian filmmaker famed for his extensive work in the film industry. His notoriety stems majorly from his films such as Mediterranea, A Ciambra, and A Chiara. Born into a family with a rich entertainment background, Carpignano was surrounded by filmmakers and musicians from a tender age. His paternal grandfather Vittorio Carpignano and uncle, Luciano Emmer, were both filmmakers in Italy whereas his maternal uncle, Sammy Benskin, was a renowned jazz pianist and band leader. This initial exposure ignited a passion for film in him which has grown to create a profound career. He attended the Fieldston School in Riverdale and later learned film-making at Wesleyan University in 2006. He later honed his skills in Italy and the United States before enrolling at the New York University Tisch School of Arts Graduate Film Program. His work has been exhibited at well-known festivals such as Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival. Carpignano made his feature film debut with Mediterranea in 2015, scoring numerous nominations and awards including the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award at the IFP Gotham Awards. His second feature film, A Ciambra premiered in 2017, bagging various accolades, including selection to represent Italy for the best foreign language film category of the Academy Awards. His most recent work is A Chiara, which won the Europa Labels prize for Best European Film at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.