Biography: Mattia Pellegrino was born in Naples in 2003. His debut short film, VUOTA (2022) premiered at the fifth edition of the Believe Film Festival in Verona, where it won Best Short Film in the official selection. Vuota went on to earn Mattia multiple nominations for Best Director and Best Film, and won Best Editing at the 13th Social World Film Festival. He later studied Visual Arts and Media at the New York Film Academy Australia, where he graduated with his second short film, CROWD (2024). He's now studying directing at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome.