Tony D’Angelo, director, screenwriter, and film producer.

Antonio D’Angelo, known as Toni and, much to my dismay, also written as Tony.

Born in Naples and grew up between two cities that I carry with me wherever I go: Naples, my root, and Rome, which welcomed me since I was a child. At just six years old, I had to leave my homeland, but that passion for life, music, and cinema has never left me. I played music, watched films, reflecting on what lay behind that magic called Art.

From high school, I went to D.A.M.S., where I dedicated my thesis to a director who changed my perspective, my way of seeing things: Abel Ferrara. With him, I took my first steps on set, embarking on a path that would mark me forever: “Toni D’Angelo, Director.”

In those years, I understood that every story is born from an intuition, an emotion, something that triggers inside you. Una notte (One Night) was my first feature film. With Poeti (Poets), I walked through Rome chasing the voices of those who write verses. With L’innocenza di Clara (Clara’s Innocence), I searched for the darkness and light of the quarries, as if digging into the invisible.

My work, my being, has always been a continuous search. What I do, following it through all stages, is transforming ideas into concrete visual projects, with the goal of creating authentic experiences in every story I tell.

It’s a challenge that excites me, bringing to life real, vibrant worlds, never idealized, never beautified. Even in the darkest moments, I strive to give back the soul of the people, the cities, the places. The logical thread that runs through my works is precisely this: telling people and cities as I encountered them, without idealizing or beautifying them. Trying to give back their authenticity, with their shadows and their lights.

In Filmstudio, Mon Amour, I paid tribute to a place that gave birth to the cinema of many. In Falchi (Hawks), I sought the tension of a raw urban crime film. With Nessuno è innocente (No One is Innocent), I had the honor of opening the Critics’ Week in Venice, while Calibro 9 was a dialogue with the Italian crime genre of yesterday and today.

Each phase I direct is part of a single journey; the goal is to bring to life images that have a soul, not just form. Living them, from idea to projection, without ever truly bringing them to life… until the conception of that soul that makes them unique and exciting. This is my concept of direction: a living image, in the heart of those who perceive it.

Every project begins with a spark: an intuition, an emotion, a need to tell. Believing in it wholeheartedly, so it becomes light spread across the screen, capable of illuminating those who watch. This is the foundation of every production I do, the beating heart that fuels my relentless search for authenticity.

And there is nothing more authentic and true than what I told in Nino. 18 giorni (18 Days), a film that comes from the same search, fueled by a very personal story: that of my father. A story where I pieced together memories and the future, made of work, music, and family—a journey that led me to retrace his story, our story.

And so, to those who ask me if being “the son of Nino D’Angelo” weighs on me, I could finally answer once and for all, on the big screen, with this truth: I am proud of it. I wish I had known him 18 days earlier.

Toni D’Angelo

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