Pain(t)

RAFAEL MAMAN is a French writer, director and producer who just graduated from an MFA degree in Film & Television Production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Driven since childhood by a passion for film telling dark stories of characters bigger than reality, Rafael has written and directed over 15 short films at USC over the last two years, exploring themes of dreams, self-belief and grief through thriller, drama and dark comedy genres.

Prior to his filmmaking career, Rafael graduated from a Bsc in Management at the City University of London and a Masters in Global Management from the London School of Economics, with a specialization in Entrepreneurship fostered during his exchange at Chicago Booth’s MBA programme. Over the course of his studies, he developed a keen interest in managing teams from diversified background, and developed communication and creative problem-solving skills, that he applied as a consultant for the Zoological Society of London’s and the NGO SEO London. Fascinated by the human connections and stories encountered through his international experiences, Rafael decided to ally his diverse skillset to his lifelong passion to go down the film path.

After a first experience in the media industry as a production coordinator for Alef One in Paris, where he spent a year overseeing the development of TV series and documentaries such as MH 370 and CARLOS GOHSN: THE LAST FLIGHT in partnership with the Middle Eastern company MBC, Rafael became director Gilles Bannier’s assistant. Shadowing him for a year during the preproduction of the show The Beautiful Game, Rafael developed an obsession for directing that never left him since.

Rafael’s goal is now to leverage on his previous professional film production experiences and his directing skills further acquired at USC to start a production company aiming at telling international filmmakers’ stories in the drama/fantastic genre that he cherishes.