Private Project

Caravaggio's Last Day

While racing up Italy's wild coast to reclaim his stolen work, queer Renaissance painter Caravaggio realizes that leaving his beautiful lover behind, to chase glory in Rome, was a betrayal that will cost him his life. As his final moments unfurl like a fever dream, he glimpses at the angel who has been guarding him all along - and understands that even in death, his art will burn on.

  • Paolina Weber
    Director
    BB Gun; In Real Life Wounds Heal
  • Paolina Weber
    Writer
    BB Gun, Iron Chef
  • Clairesa Clay
    Producer
    For My People
  • Valerio DaSilva
    Key Cast
    "Caravaggio"
    The Equalizer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 5, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Blackmagic Pro 6K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Feirstein Graduate School Of Cinema
  • 23 rd Miami Short Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
    November 9, 2024
    Official Selection
  • CANNES INDIE SHORTS AWARDS
    Cannes
    France
    November 6, 2024
    European Premiere
    Semi Finalist
  • Tokyo Short Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    January 11, 2025
    Asian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Seoul International Short Film Festival
    Seoul
    South Korea
    June 4, 2025
    Korean Premiere
    Best Experimental Film
  • Dubai Independent Film Festival
    Dubai
    United Arab Emirates
    December 11, 2024
    Middle Eastern
    Semi Finalist
  • New Orleans International Film Awards
    New Orleans
    United States
    December 22, 2024
    Southern Uniter States
    Semi Finalist
  • Big Bear International Film Festival
    Big Bear, CA
    United States
    September 28, 2025
    West Coast Premiere
  • Chelsea Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    October 19, 2024
    North American Premiere
  • Chicago Illumination Film Festival
    Chicago, Illinois
    United States
    August 28, 2025
    Mid Western Premiere
    Best Sound Design
  • Citrus Cirtcuit Film Festival
    South Beach, Florida
    United States
    September 6, 2025
    Best Director Spring 2025, Best Actor 2025
Director Biography - Paolina Weber

Paolina Weber's upbringing at the epicenter of the art world underpins her unique visual sensibility. She is an American-Italian filmmaker with an MFA from Brooklyn's Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, where she was awarded grants from Warner Media and The Joel and Candace Zwick Foundation. A graduate of The University of Chicago, Paolina established X_OUT, LLC in 2016, a production company dedicated to sharing narratives of non-conformists. Drawing from her experience as a former Independent Study Fellow at the Whitney Museum of American Art, she brilliantly intertwines art and identity in her current short film.

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Director Statement

The film interweaves visceral reality with vivid hallucinations, painting an intimate portrait of a brilliant queer artist torn between faith and forbidden desire. As night turns to dawn on his last day, Caravaggio must reckon with his own truth – that his denial of love and identity has been as destructive as any external foe. Ultimately, Caravaggio’s Last Day is a journey through light and shadow, devotion and doubt, culminating in one man’s poignant final reckoning with himself and the legacy he will leave in the world of art.