Ben Donateo
Locarno Spring Academy 2022
Locarno Spring Academy 2022
Ben Donateo is a filmmaker from Switzerland. His latest short film Burnt. Land of Fire was in the official selection at Locarno Film Festival, Pardi di Domani 2020, IDFA 2020, 42nd Durban International Film Festival and 56th Solothurner Filmtage.
In late 2021, he participated in the 2nd Film Accelerator with Werner Herzog in the Filming a strange planet (previously Colombian jungle).
He was born in Switzerland in 1988. After studying filmmaking in Los Angeles, he attended the Sapienza University of Rome where he founded D.R.C. Creativity Productions, a cultural association for film enthusiasts.
Now he works on social and environmental projects for his association in Lugano and Rome.
My eyes opened wide when I heard that Michelangelo Frammartino will be tutoring this year’s edition. My latest short film touches on some topics that were greatly influenced by his work. The mood of his movies and his style are especially important to me. I’m really determined to seize all the opportunities I can, and this one will be huge.