Francesco (Francio) Mazza is an Italian writer, script-writer and director.
Career
editFrom 1999 to 2001, he was a recurring guest on Michele Santoro’s evening talk shows (Circus, Il Raggio Verde) aired on Rai 2.
In September 2001 he moved to Mediaset, becoming a reporter for the youth magazine Mosquito aired on Italia 1.
In 2003 he joined the crew of TV writer and producer Antonio Ricci. In 2005, he was one of the writer of Striscia la notizia[1] (aired on Canale 5).[2] He also worked on some Striscia’s spin-offs, such as Paperissima Sprint and Le Nuove Mostre.
In 2011,[3][4] he was a script-writer of Big End, a sketch-com that aired on Rai 4.
After leaving Striscia in 2012, he graduated in filmmaking in New York in 2013.
In 2015, he wrote and directed the short film Frankie (Italian Roulette)[5] in which he also acted as the main character.[6] In 2016 it was nominated ("cinquina finalista") for a Nastro d'Argento in Rome. The co-writer of Frankie (Italian Roulette) is New York-based director Amos Poe.
He also wrote, directed and produced the TV documentary Graffiti a New York[7] that premiered on Italian broadcaster Sky Arte HD on 20 November 2015. Graffiti a New York is presented by Italian journalist Federico Buffa[8] and features some of the most relevant graffiti writers of all time,[9] including the British photographer Jon Naar. Later on, the documentary screened at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO).[10]
In 2017 he directed the short film Broken Eggs, starring Michael Laurence and Nicole Arlyn, produced by Amos Poe. It screened at various festival in Italy and in the U.S.
On 10 October 2017 his web series Estremi Rimedi ("Full measures")[11] was released online:[12] it won “best screenplay” and “best actor” at the 6th Rome Web Fest.[13] In 2019 it won for "best Italian web series" at the Digital Media Fest. By December, 2021, all the episodes have amassed over 50 million views on Facebook.
In 2018, he wrote and directed the TV documentary Ettore Majorana - L’Uomo del futuro on the life and the legacy of Italian scientist Ettore Majorana.[14] It premiered on Sky Arte HD[15] on March 28 for the 80th anniversary of Majorana’s mysterious disappearance.[16]
In 2021, he wrote and directed his fifth short film Infelici e contenti ("Happily unhappy"). For her role in this movie, Italian actress Angelica Cacciapaglia won for "best supporting actress" at the MISFF -Montecatini International Short Film Festival, the longest-running Italian festival dedicated to short films.
As a writer, in 2020 he wrote the non-fiction book Volevo essere nessuno ("I wanted to be nobody") published by Mondadori and translated in English. In 2021 his memoir "Il veleno nella coda"[17] ("The poison in the tail") was published by Laurana editore. It received positive reviews from the critics[18][19] and was ranked seventh in the weekly chart of "Robinson".
For years, he has been writing op-eds, satirical articles and special reports for various international media outlets. His works appeared in Libération,[20][21] Linkiesta,[22][23] Charlie Hebdo,[24] RaiNews24 among others. In 2016 he won the Macchianera Internet Award for best article of the year, with an article about Charlie Hebdo Comics published on the Italian online magazine Gli Stati Generali.
TV shows
edit| Year | Film | Channel | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-2002 | Mosquito | Italia 1 | Talent |
| 2003-2012 | Striscia la notizia | Canale 5 | Writer |
| 2008-2012 | Paperissima Sprint | Canale 5 | Writer |
| 2009-2010 | Mattino 5 | Canale 5 | Writer |
| 2010-2012 | Le nuove mostre | Canale 5 | Writer |
| 2011 | Big End | Rai 4 | Writer |
| 2017-2018 | Buffa racconta il Sundance Film Festival | Sky Cinema | Director of photography |
Filmography
edit| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Vera Bes "Sotto la Maschera" | Writer, director |
| 2015 | Frankie (Italian Roulette) | Writer, director, actor |
| 2015 | Graffiti a New York | Writer, director, executive producer |
| 2017 | Broken Eggs | Writer, director |
| 2017 | Estremi Rimedi | Writer, director, actor |
| 2018 | Ettore Majorana - L'uomo del futuro | Writer, director |
Books
edit| Year | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Volevo essere nessuno | Mondadori |
| 2021 | Il veleno nella coda | Laurana Editore |
References
edit- ^ "Torna Striscia la Notizia, il Tg satirico di Antonio Ricci spegne 22 candeline". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Striscia la Notizia". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Traffico, inchieste, meteo: il bello e il brutto della città in onda sulle web-tv - Milano". milano.corriere.it. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Da Striscia a Pisapia: ecco perché". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Frankie Italian Roulette in Cannes". [permanent dead link]
- ^ "ciakmagazine". Ciak Magazine. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Da Milano a New York per raccontare l'arte dei maestri dei graffiti". MilanoToday. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "New York, Buffa racconta i graffiti: su Sky Arte nuovo documentario di Mazza". La Gazzetta dello Sport - Tutto il rosa della vita. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Francesco Mazza on Directing and Producing". streetartnyc.org. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Graffiti a New York al MACRO". [permanent dead link]
- ^ "La rivoluzione satirica da Milano: "Estremi rimedi", la web serie. Intervista". Affaritaliani.it. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Francesco Mazza, autore della serie Estremi rimedi: la situazione è complicata e, quindi, positiva perché nel caos nascono possibilità… - duels". 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Pagina non trovata. Error 404 | MYmovies". www.mymovies.it. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Ettore Majorana, le sue scoperte e il mistero della sua scomparsa". Repubblica TV - Repubblica. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Il Venerdi" (PDF). Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Newspaper clipping". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "In libreria "Il Veleno nella Coda", romanzo di Francesco Francio Mazza". Adnkronos (in Italian). 29 April 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Magazine clipping francescomazza.com
- ^ Newspaper clipping francescomazza.com
- ^ Mazza, Francesco. "«Charlie» à l'italienne". Libération. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Mazza, Francesco. "Au commencement était Harvey Weinstein". Libération. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Il caso Regeni è l'esempio di questa Italia che chiagne e (se ne) fotte - Linkiesta.it". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Brutalità e regime: la crisi del Venezuela raccontata da una giornalista venezuelana - Linkiesta.it". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "La caricature de Charlie Hebdo expliquée à ma mère - Charlie Hebdo". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
