Daily Inspiration: Meet Max Leonida

Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Leonida.

Hi Max, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started at the age of 18, while studying Literature and Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, I was also working with a local theater company, bringing on the stage unusual and original plays.
At 21 I’ve been admitted to the prestigious acting school Accademia de’ Filodrammatici and at 22 I founded my first own theater company Teatro del Sacro.
Until my 30 years of age I’ve been working in theater as an actor, writer and director (I also owned a theater in Milan: Teatro Estremo) then in 2003 I founded, together with my amazing wifey and partner for 30 years Paola Cipollina (producer) Astarox Productions, a company that has been active for decades in TV, commercial, film and entertainment in general.
Between 2010 and 2011 my family and I moved to Los Angeles and, in 2020, during the pandemic we permanently moved to Iowa thanks to a miraculous and serendipitous event!
I am currently working on the distribution deals of my last feature movie “DOZIER” and, at the same time, I am developing a new film and a limited series for a big, international steaming service.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My road has been everything but smooth: still right now my life and career is full of ups and downs, like a never ending bittersweet roller coaster…
I believe it’s an occupational hazard and I’m pretty much used to that: it only hurts when the pain and the betrayals comes from the people I love and trust, but we’re all flawed human beings and I guess we all make mistakes and stupid things in general.
Being a filmmaker is a job that – like an octopus – extends its tentacles in every aspect of my life: the working environment, the private and personal sphere, the inner psychological struggle… we don’t punch cards and start or end our working hours: our entire existence is affected by our feelings, our mood, our most delicate feelings.
Being a creative is like being a tree, whose roots are trying to search for water to survive everywhere in the ground, by going deeper and deeper into the dirt: we are looking for poetry and inspiration in each and every angle of our existence… and an unexpected event or an accident can radically take a big toll on our work and our life in general.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I do love everything about my work, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to wake up any given morning and face a brand new day… as I said before, my peculiar job comes with its fair share of pros and cons, with lights and shadows, with perks and issues, but when you see that the fruit of your efforts is able to move an audience or to make them laugh, or think, or cry… well that’s the most rewarding moment!
The thing I am most proud of is currently my last feature film, titled “DOZIER”, a political/crime story based on the true events of the Italian Red Brigades’ kidnapping and liberation of NATO American General James L. Dozier, happened in Verona between December 1981 and January 1982.
So far we’ve won the Beast Narrative Feature award at the 2026 Julien Dubuque International Film Festival and the “Best Feature Film” and “Best Drama” awards at the 2026 London Directors Independent Festival. We’re planning to start the distribution by November 2026.
I also am Film Artist-in-Residence at William Penn University, running the New Media Department together with my talented colleague Kaitlin Ardolino, and working closely with Sam, Wilton, Willow and all the awesome members of our creative team! Our plan/objective is extend and expand the New Media program way beyond the boundaries of the current Academic status and involve directly our students in actual state-of-the-art productions: for example I brought some selected students with me in Italy, working on the set of DOZIER, to live a once-in-lifetime experience all paid for… and I wonder how many campuses are doing something like that.
I don’t know exactly what could set me apart from the others, because there are so many filmmakers that I love and keep in high esteem… maybe my search for truth and sincerity: in the story, in the filming and in the performance… in fact before starting my work on DOZIER I became close friend with the General himself (who’s now 95 years old and retired in Florida) in order to give my story the authenticity that it requires.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Los Angeles is the first place where I’ve been living for a while, when I first moved to the US, and I believe it still holds a place in my heart… but after I moved to Iowa, my life has radically changed for what I believe it’s better: and that’s – of course – my personal, individual opinion.
I love the Midwest and there’s not another place where I could think of living in, but – again – Los Angels taught me a lot in terms of professional skills, dealing with big production issues and… somehow develop a strong survival instinct and a thicker skin to better resist to the what life may bring!
After all the Los Angeles Metro Area currently counts over 12 million residents and it’s fatal that a wide and dispersive place like that would bring people (especially the creative ones) to sometimes lose their compass, their confidence and, unfortunately, their drive.
I don’t regret the time spent in California and I am truly grateful because been able to live for basically a decade, in a big, complex and full-of-everything capital such LA, but now I need the quiet, silent, and powerful Iowan landscape to boost my creativity and my inspiration.
I don’t know if it’s related to my getting more mature or if it’s just my soul craving for that… but that’s what I want and need now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maxleonida.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxLeonidaDirector/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxleonida/en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@maxleonida336
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3209529/

Image Credits
Photos by:
Ranuccio Bastoni by New Reporter Press Agency
Reed Peterson by William Penn University
Giò Tarantini Fotografo