Sergio Navarretta is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

who draws inspiration from Italian cinema. Navarretta is best known for ''

The Cuban ''The Cuban'' is a 2019 Canadian drama film, directed by Sergio Navarretta and written by Alessandra Piccione. The film stars Ana Golja as Mina, a young woman working at a nursing home managed by her aunt Bano (Shohreh Aghdashloo) while prepari ...

'' and his first feature film, ''

Looking for Angelina ''Looking for Angelina'' is a 2005 Canadian drama film based on the murder case involving Angelina Napolitano. Napolitano allegedly murdered her husband with an axe and was sentenced to be executed. In 2003, independent film director Sergio Nava ...

'', based on the true-life story of

Angelina Napolitano Angelina Napolitano (1882–1932) was an Immigration to Canada, immigrant to Canada who murdered her intimate partner violence, abusive husband in 1911, igniting a public debate about domestic violence and the Capital punishment, death penalty.Plat ...

. The International Women of the World in Bologna, Italy, presented Navarretta with a special award on September 18, 2010, for his work on ''Looking for Angelina''. Navarretta is a co-founder of S.N.A.P. Films Inc., along with his partner

Alessandra Piccione Alessandra Piccione is a Canadian screenwriter and producer, known for her work on the films ''Looking for Angelina'', ''The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship'', and ''The Cuban''. She completed her Bachelor of Arts at the University of ...

. Navarretta has directed several other projects, including the short film ''Serena DeBergerac'' and the award-winning ''Over a Small Cup of Coffee'', which premiered at the Toronto Italian Film Awards in June 2001. He directed the documentary ''Going to the Movies'', which premiered in September 2002 at the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals, most notably through the Canadian Scre ...

screening series, and the dramatic film ''Il Bagno'' (The Bath), which premiered in June 2002 at the Toronto Italian Film Festival. In 2003, he directed another short film, ''Commedia'', an operatic piece inspired by

Commedia dell’arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

characters and aerial acrobatics, which appeared on

Bravo! CTV Drama Channel (formerly known as Bravo) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel was founded as the Canadian version of the U.S. channel Bravo (which is now owned by NBCUniversal) on January 1, 1995 b ...

later that year. In 2012, he directed ''The Fortune Cookie,'' which won a Best in Shorts Award and in 2014, he directed ''En Plein Air,'' which showcased at Nuit Blanche in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. In 2015, Navarretta directed ''The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship'', a comedy/drama shot entirely in Niagara's wine country. Starring

Krista Bridges Krista Bridges (born 4 November 1968) is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in more than eighty films since 1988, and received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 13th Genie Awards in 1992 for '' The Shower''."The Genie ...

( Heroes Reborn),

Enrico Colantoni Enrico Colantoni (born February 14, 1963) is a Canadian actor and director, best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom ''Just Shoot Me!'', Keith Mars on the television series ''Veronica Mars'', Louis Lutz on the short-lived sitcom ''H ...

(Flashpoint, Just Shoot Me), and

David Cubitt David Cubitt (born 18 March 1965) is an English-born Canadian television actor. Born in England in 1965 to a Dutch mother, Jette, and an English father, David, he moved with his parents to Vancouver, British Columbia when he was six months ol ...

(Traders, Medium). The film had its world premiere at the Niagara Integrated Film Festival, its Western Canada premiere at the Whistler Film Festival and its U.S. premiere at Sonoma International Film Festival. The film won the Castlepoint Numa Award at the ICFF festival in Toronto. Navarretta is a founding member of the Town of Innisfil's Arts, Culture, and Heritage Council and served as Vice Chair of that council for a year.. http://m.simcoe.com/whatson-story/2072560-innisfil-arts-council-struck In 2015, he was an executive producer on ''

Arctic Dogs ''Arctic Dogs'' (also known as ''Arctic Justice'' or ''Polar Squad'' in the UK) is a 2019 computer-animated comedy film co-written and directed by Aaron Woodley and co-directed by Dimos Vrysellas. The film stars the voices of Jeremy Renner, ...

,'' the animated feature film starring

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T.'' (2 ...

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Ma ...

Heidi Klum Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as no ...

Omar Sy Omar Sy (, ff, 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gaine ...

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' (19 ...

, and

Laurie Holden Heather Laurie Holden (born December 17, 1969) is a Canadian-American actress, producer, and human rights activist, known for her roles as Marita Covarrubias in ''The X-Files'' (1996–2002), Adele Stanton in ''The Majestic (film), The Majestic' ...

In 2018, he directed ''

'', starring Oscar winner

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

and

Shohreh Aghdashloo Shohreh Aghdashloo ( fa, شهره آغداشلو, ; née Vaziri-Tabar (); 11 May 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in ''Chess of the Wind'' (1976). Her next two film ...

. The film, shot in

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

and

Brant County The County of Brant (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 39,474) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Although it retains t ...

in southern Ontario through mid-May, also stars '' Degrassi: Next Class'' actress

Ana Golja Muazana "Ana" Golja is a Canadian actress and singer. She is known for playing Zoë Rivas in the teen dramas '' Degrassi: Next Class'' and '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Ariana Berlin in the TV movie ''Full Out''. Career Golja began h ...

Giacomo Gianniotti Giacomo Keaton Gianniotti (born 19 June 1989) is an Italian-Canadian film and television actor. He studied theater at Humber College and made his acting debut in the Italian television series ''Medicina Generale'' in 2010. He went on to play rec ...

and

Lauren Holly Lauren Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', Dr. Betty Rogers on ''Motive' ...

. Navarretta has a background in music from

the Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

and is a member of the DGC (

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assistant ...

). He served as a mentor in this year's Being Black in Toronto initiative and is teaching a masterclass for Reel Works in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, whose mission is to empower undeserved youth. Navarretta has been invited to contribute to panels and public forums for organizations such as: The Academy of Film and Television; WIFT;

TIFF Tag Image File Format, abbreviated TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is widely supported by scanning, faxing, word processin ...

; and FOLCS (New York). His thought leadership mission includes topics such as: filmmaking; surviving as an artist during COVID-19; mental wellness; and the importance of diversity in film and television.

Selected filmography

* Lamborghini - The Legend * ''

'' * '' Trading Paint'' * ''The Fortune Cookie'' (Short) * ''Arctic Justice'' * ''Bent'' * ''Andron'' * ''The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship'' * ''En Plein Air II'' (Short) * ''Serena DeBergerac'' (Short) * ''

'' * ''Commedia'' (Short) Sergio Navarretta Filmmaker

Awards and nominations

* Best Shorts Competition 2012 – Winner of Award of Merit for "The Fortune Cookie" * Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2015 – Winner of Castlepoint Numa Award for the production of "The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship"

References

External links

*
Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarretta, Sergio Canadian film directors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Italian emigrants to Canada