Rio Contrada is an award-winning filmmaker and nihilistic flower child from Northampton, Massachusetts. His films have screened at over 40 festivals globally and his writing has placed in premiere competitions such as Austin Film Festival, Screencraft and the Black List's Top Pilots List.

He recently produced the Boston crime drama How to Rob, starring Chinaza Uche (A Good Person, Dickinson), which took home audience awards for best feature film at IFFBoston and New Hampshire Film Festival. Rio cut his teeth in development working for John Lesher (Birdman, Black Mass), earned his first producer credit on the Lifetime series American Beauty Star, and went on to assist TV legend Debbie Allen on Grey's Anatomy.

He currently resides in Hollywood where he can be found waxing poetic about New England autumns or pointedly brushing past sidewalk-lookers at the walk of fame.