Today we’d like to introduce you to Simona Mancini.
Hi Simona, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Italy, in Campania, in 1981. I began my artistic journey with painting, discovering early on that images could translate emotions and inner perspectives. Over time, I realized that this expressive need could find an even more powerful form through cinema.
After high school I moved to Rome, where I studied directing and cinematography, earning a Diploma in Documentary Directing, a Degree in Cinema, and a Master’s in Audiovisual Production. At the same time, I started working on independent film sets in various roles, and my international experiences helped expand both my skills and my artistic vision.
In 2016 I founded the independent collective Film Pollution 1981, through which I create audiovisual projects across different genres and techniques. Over the past twenty years, as a director, screenwriter, and producer, I have developed films, documentaries, and web projects that have been selected by national and international festivals, winning awards and recognitions, and are now also available on streaming platforms.
Among the works I consider most representative are the short film Bianca (2023), Ego Reloaded (2021), the international documentary DocPol – 1 Nation 4 Cities (2019), and the medium-length film Diva (2018). As a screenwriter, I have also received awards for projects such as Wreaking Havoc in 1999, Jigsaw Puzzle, and Hymn to Her, which were recognized in both national and international screenplay competitions. My artistic research continues to explore the intersection of cinema, memory, and visual experimentation, aiming to turn personal experience into a universal language.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My path has not been easy, and it still isn’t. In Italy, for an independent or emerging artist, it is extremely difficult to find production companies willing to support your projects, especially if you don’t already have a well-established name. Cinema here is often considered only as “art,” rather than as an “industry” capable of creating stable and credible work opportunities. This makes it challenging to build an autonomous and sustainable career.
For this reason, most of my audiovisual projects have been produced independently or with very small amounts of funding. This approach forces you to develop resilience and creativity, but it also comes with continuous sacrifices. Writing, however, is a different matter: the screenplay is the first territory free of obstacles, where you can shape your vision without external filters, already defining the kind of cinema you want to tell.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work moves between cinema, writing, and visual arts. I am an independent director, screenwriter, and producer, but also a photographer and visual artist. This allows me to create projects that engage with different languages, from traditional audiovisual formats to new forms of web-based storytelling.
I specialize in developing independent projects that combine aesthetic research with strong narratives. My films often explore themes such as memory, identity, and the relationship between urban space and personal experience, using a visual language that blends realism and experimentation.
What I am most proud of is the consistency of my journey: despite working mainly in self-production and with limited resources, I have managed to bring my films and documentaries to national and international festivals, receiving awards and recognitions, while also building an audience that follows and supports my artistic research.
I believe what sets me apart is precisely this combination of independence and continuity: the ability to carry out projects without compromise, maintaining strong creative freedom, and at the same time the desire to transform personal experiences into universal stories that can resonate with a wide audience.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
For me, risk is an integral part of my work—almost the very condition of it. Making independent cinema in Italy means living in constant uncertainty: our profession is often treated as if it were a hobby, while major production companies remain like impregnable fortresses, surrounded by moats and drawbridges, unreachable for those without a name or an established system behind them.
You take a risk every time you believe in a project and decide to push it forward with all your strength: seeking approval, support, funding. And when no one is willing to listen, the risk grows even bigger, because you roll up your sleeves and produce it on your own. This comes with enormous sacrifices: very little or no financial return, and the frustration of not being able to pay your collaborators what they truly deserve.
And yet, it is within this very risk that I find my strength: every project completed becomes an achievement, an act of resistance and creative freedom.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.simonamancinicreativespace.it/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmpollution/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1981KinokiPollution / https://www.facebook.com/simo.kinoki/
- LinkedIn: https://soundcloud.com/soundoki
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/soundoki
- Other: https://filmvisionpollutio.wixsite.com/kinoki
Image Credits
The photos only show me: Simona Mancini
