Gigi Roccati

Gigi Roccati, born 1979, is a director and documentary filmmaker. Holding a diploma from the London Film School and a masters degree from the London Metropolitan University, with his graduation short film, Chloe Travels Time, Roccati won an internship at the Universal Studios in Los Angeles, USA. After his short films were selected for the Venice and Rome Film Festivals, in 2006, Roccati returned to Italy to work on documentaries that have taken him from China, Russia and Afghanistan to the United States, South America, Cuba and Lebanon. In 2007, he began directing history programs for the Italian national TV– RAI 3. In 2008, Roccati directed, The Working Class Goes to Hell; a documentary about the tragedy of the Italian Thyssen-Krupp factory. In 2009, Roccati, in association with RAI Television, began filming Road to Kabul, a documentary about the Italian army and the Red Cross in Afghanistan. With the same title Roccati has just published his first photo-journalistic book with Contrasto; a diary of his travels through Afghanistan. Director of several music videos, in the summer of 2010 in Beirut, Roccati shot "General Suleiman" for singer Zeid Hamdan (Zeid and the Wings). The video was screened worldwide and reviewed by international newspapers including, The LA Times, El Mundo, Repubblica, and Haaretz. The posting of the video on YouTube started a first ever positive online dialogue between the youth of Israel and Lebanon. Samples of Gigi Roccati’s work are available on YouTube and on his website. Professional photo-journalist Roccati also collaborates with numerous Italian newspapers and magazines, with reportages from his travels. He currently lives between Italy and Lebanon where he is developing his debut feature film: Beirut, I Love You based on the heartfelt memoir by Zena el Khalil. The screenplay, written together with the author of the book, went through several workshops in partnership with EAVE, Dubai Film Festival and won several prizes including the prestigious TFL - Torino Film Lab Awards, winning both the Jury and the Audience Awards. Beirut, I Love You has also received the MEDIA development fund and the MIBAC production award.