Massimo Ivan Falsetta (1978) began his career on several advertising and film sets by observing prominent directors like Giuseppe Tornatore in action (adverts for Dolce & Gabbana parfum and Sicily).
He was accepted at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Experimental Centre for Cinematography) where he obtained a freelance contract as an assistant director and took part in numerous projects by the students in an active collaboration lasting more than a year.
After having shot numerous short films and video clips between 2004-2008, in February 2008 he presented his short film Pioggia a Pois (Polka-Dotted Rain) at the University of Rome La Sapienza’s film festival Tulipani di Seta Nera (Black Velvet Tulips). He’s also one of the festival’s creators and president of its prestigious jury composed of Chancellor Guerini, Prof Morcellini (Head of Communications Science) and the actors Luca Ward, Andrea Roncato, Giada Desideri and Rita del Piano (to name a few). This work he had shot the previous year won him a place in the short film corner of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, the off-circuit of Venice and the final phase of Rutger Hauer’s festival I’ve Seen in Los Angeles, in addition to participating in numerous national and international film festivals.
In 2009 he created and served as the artistic director for the Sila festival, an event to promote eco-friendly cinema and its ties to the land. During the three days of cinema and music many famous actors like Raul Bova and Franco Nero attended, as well as the director Calopresti and musicians like Eugenio Bennato and Almamegretta. In 2009 he worked on tour with Eugenio Bennato who had commisioned the shooting of a documentary on the Kaulonia Tarantella Festival and the Taranta (spider-dance).
In 2010 he shot Calibro 10 (Caliber 10)- a Decalogue of Crime, a pulp film on the Mafia’s ten commandments starring Franco Nero.
In 2013 he shot Onde Road, a feature-length film with a soundtrack by The Rockets and the involvement of Federico the Flying Dutchman, Awanagana, Battaglia, Miseferi and Fabrice Quagliotti. He shot a video for The Rockets’ “Party Queen”, distributed by Warner Bros and all the label’s official channels.
In 2015 Onde Road was released in cinemas, gaining positive reviews from the press and national critics. In Paris in October 2015 he sold out a projection of the film Onde Road at the Cinema du Panteon in an event organised by Prof Paulo Modugno of the Sorbonne. Also in 2015 he was assistant director of Terre di Musica (Lands of Music), a documentary on the assets confiscated from the Mafia with Salvatore de Siena of the band “Il Parto delle Nuvole Pesanti”.
In April 2017 he created the national advertisment for Susan Komen Italia and Policlinico Gemelli titled ‘Siamo sospese ma sappiamo volare”(We are suspended but we know how to fly), dedicated to all women fighting breast cancer. He recently completed writing his first novel titled La Tripla (The Triple). In June 2018 he shot Virgo- A Woman’s Cold Feet starring Roberto Herlitzka and Anna Falchi, a dramatic short fifteen minutes in length.