Diana Cignoni
| Diana Cignoni | |
|---|---|
| Born | Germany |
| 🎓 Alma mater | HB Studio |
| 💼 Occupation |
|
| Notable work | Lulu, Desert Mantis, Snow Child, Palm Trees, Blood Wolf, Perfect, Bruises, One Weekend |
| 🏅 Awards | See Filmography |
| 🌐 Website | www |
Diana Cignoni is a German American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, who resides in Los Angeles, California.[1] She is a member of Film Fatales, an inclusive non-profit to support female and non-binary feature film and television directors[2] and the GABA Film Initiative,[3]. Cignoni is the founder of Ground Hero Film[4] and is currently represented in Europe by Divina.[5] As the Founder of Ground Hero Film, Cignoni has directed a prolific 15 short films and 3 feature films[6], many of which are award-winning, as well as numerous music and fashion videos.[1] A selection of films, TV shows, and music videos that she has made and has acted in can be seen on Amazon[7], iTunes[8], Google Store[9], and Vimeo[10]. Diana has received awards and accolades for her films including: For Snow Child: Best Short Film by a Female Director 2019 Elba Film Festival, Best Female Filmmaker 2019 Brentwood & Pacific Palisades International Film Festival; For Lulu: Best Trailer 2018 Queen Palm Film Fest, Jury Award 2017 Tea Dance Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Greenville, NC, Best Women’s Film 2019 L’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival; For Blood Wolf: Jury Award 2018 ARFF Berlin, Best Short Film 2018 ARFF Paris, Panavision New Filmmaker Grant 2017, and For Perfect: Best Film on Disability 2019 Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, Best Film on Women 2019 L’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival, Best Film on Disability 2019 Cult Critic Movie Awards, Best Film on Disability 2019 Virgin Spring Cine Fest, Best Documentary Film 2016 SaMo Indie, and an Audience Choice Award 2016 SaMo Indie.[1] Cignoni has also been nominated for multiple awards for her acting in theater, including most recently in 2019, a Stage Raw Leading Actor Nomination for her portrayal of Grace in Faith Healer.[11] She has performed for over 20 years and many productions with the KOAN Ensemble through Odyssey Theater[12]under the direction of Ron Sossi.[13] Diana has also won praise for her screenplays. Her feature length screenplay Brennhausen has won Best Unproduced Screenplay at the 2019 International Film Festival of Wales, Secondo Premio at the 2019 Firenze FilmCorti Festival, Rising Star Award at the 2018 Germany International Film Festival, and was a Screenplay Finalist at the 2019 Big Apple Women's Film Festival Screenplay Competition. Cignoni has created films for Port Magazine, Playboy, FHM Collections, and The Goethe Institute.[10] Al Pacino wrote a letter of praise about Diana Cignoni, stating
| “ | The subtle nuances in her style help transform her ideas in a riveting and powerful fashion, demonstrating her unique approach to film expression. She is truly a great talent that should be on everyone's short list of exciting new filmmakers. | ” |
| — Al Pacino, in a reference letter[10] | ||
.
Cignoni's television work includes being a host on Der Preis ist heiß,[14] Germany's version of The Price is Right for 600 shows. She continued her acting career in Germany on the TV show Derrick.[15]. Diana moved to New York to pursue acting and was cast as a Dabo girl in Quark's Bar on Star Trek:Deep Space Nine.[16] She has 15 TV and film credits, including Diagnosis Murder, The Pretender, and Surviving in LA.[6]
Early Life
Diana Cignoni was born in Munnerstadt, Germany. Her father, Elbanino Cignoni, was Italian. Elbanino Cignoni was from Isola d’Elba, Italy. Her mother, Ingrid Boehm Cignoni was from Silberbach, Czech Republic, a village and municipality in the Sokolov District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. Diana has lived in Munich, London, Milan, Zurich, Athens, Madrid, Miami, New York City, and now resides in Los Angeles. She has excelled in many professions. Cignoni began as a model, transitioned to a Price is Right Germany Game Show Host[17], then an actor on television and in film, an independent filmmaker, who writes and directs movies financed in part with income from her acting and modeling work, fashion shoot producing work, and other jobs within the film industry.
Career
Diana Cignoni began her career as a model. She worked with many elite clients including Trussardi, Giorgio Armani, Escada, and Christian Dior.[1]. Modeling brought Cignoni life in many cities across the globe. She began her modeling career in Munich, then moved to London, representing Profile Models London, Profile Model Management fashion model agency based in London. Cignoni continued her career as a fashion model, traversing the globe, starting in Milan, then Zurich, on to Athens, Madrid, London and moving to the United States, working and living in Miami, New York with Wilhelmina Models, WILHELMINA, and Los Angeles with Ford Models, Ford Models LA (West Hollywood, CA, United States) Modeling Agency - models.com Agency Profile and Innovative Artists, Innovative Artists.
While in Munich, Cignoni became a game show co-host for Der Preis ist heiß, Germany's version of The Price is Right game show[17] She was co-host for 600 shows. Diana also had her first acting gig, a role of a prostitute on the German TV show Derrick.[15]. Diana met acting coach Geraldine Baron while working on Der Preis ist heiß[18]. Geraldine Baron greatly influenced Cignoni in many ways. It was with Baron that Cignoni took her first acting class, found her first mentor, and followed Baron's advice to go to the United States. Cignoni credits Geraldine Baron for changing her life.[19]
Cignoni decided to pursue acting while in New York City, where she attended HB Studio and studied under Elisabeth Dillon and The Actor's Studio with Penelope Allen, Mark Rydell, and Martin Landau. Cignoni later moved to Los Angeles where she furthered her studies with her mentor Charlie Laughton, Al Pacino’s life-long mentor and friend[20][21] She studied with Charlie Laughton for 15 years in Los Angeles. In Charlie, she found a mentor and friend. Charlie influenced her as an artist. She stated,
"He was a poet and acting teacher, but he was more than that. He was an artist that influenced artists through his teachings and presence (filmmakers, actors, writers). I am very lucky to have worked with him."
Charlie Laughton's teachings are based on Method Acting. This also influenced her directing style, as she considers herself a Method Acting Director. Cignoni made a film with Charlie where she filmed some of his classes. The film, It's So Much Like Luck You Know was an official Selection of the 2004 Topanga Film Festival, founded by Sara Baur Harding and Urs Baur.[22] Diana Cignoni worked for 20 years as a “KOAN” Ensemble member at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles where they created original content together.[23][24] With Ron Sossi, the director of the ensemble, she practiced the collective ownership of the art, where she was a creative as well as an interpretive artist. This focus on inclusivity and collaboration, help Diana to feel supported, trusted, and listened to by the group which thus, further supported the creation of her directing skills and guides her directing style and approach. Diana however, is an accomplished actress and espouses Method Acting in all roles that she delves into. She gives penetrating and soulful performances, which have been recognized in theater reviews and in award nominations. Diana has brought many characters to a full and rich life,[25] from roles in Footfalls and Come and Go by Samuel Beckett[26] to Eurydice in Sliding into Hades by Aaron Henne[27][28] to the wife in White Marriage by Tadeusz Rozewicz[29] to Grace in Faith Healer by Brian Friel. She received a Stage Raw Leading Actor Nomination for her portrayal of Grace in Faith Healer.[11] Diana's performances have received adulations such as
"With an emotional tautness that resembles a brave soul trying to hold back a tidal wave of tragedy, Grace is the broken heart of the production."
by John Levitt of the Hollywood Times.[30] and
| “ | However, I dare say you would be hard pressed to find a more exciting use of this genre than what transpires on that stage as the nuanced performances given by these three mega-talented actors are nothing short of masterful. | ” |
| — Beverly Cohn, in a Santa Monica Mirror newspaper review[31] | ||
Through all of these wonderful schools, teachers, and mentors, Cignoni developed her own unique voice. First known as a model, then game show host, then actor on television and in film, she also became a independent filmmaker, writing and directing movies financed in part with income from her acting and modeling work and later, fashion shoot producing work and other jobs in the industry. Diana has always immersed herself fully into whatever film endeavor she has pursued. She is a dedicated craftsperson and has a unique style and engaging artistry. Diana Cignoni transitioned into becoming a filmmaker after working as the main actor on a graduate film with John Solomon[32]. Diana was cast in Solomon's UCLA graduation film Nonsense Man. It was a small set with very few crew. Cignoni stated,
"John made it all look so easy and artistic and sustainable to make a film. He reminded me of a Casavettes, very independent and underground, raw, real and it inspired me to direct my first film on a one chip video camera."
Cignoni's first film as a director was "Jade- Portrait of a Street Hustler". It was an 2001 Official Selection of the New York International Film Festival and 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival.[33] Diana shot, directed, produced, and co-edited the film. This was the beginning of her directing and where she began to explore her directing talent. She furthered her methodology as a director through improvisation, leading group sessions, and directing small groups at the Odyssey Theater. Diana has continued to flourish and create a prolific amount of short films and three features as of February 2021. Cignoni's style is pure poetry and lyrical in nature. It often creates a dreamlike state of being. Her beautiful imagery transfixes her audience, as does the naturalistic style and elicited vulnerable and raw performances of the actors. Nicholas Matthews, a Cinematographer represented by Zero Gravity stated
| “ | She lets her instinct guide her in crafting a space where performances thrive, pushing her actors to new and more vulnerable heights. She combines documentary realism with the lyric poetry of European cinema to craft a truly magical realist films that are daring and poetic. | ” |
| — Nicholas Matthews, Cinematographer, in a reference letter[34] | ||
An accomplished actress, singer, and author, Cady McClain, also commended the talent of Cignoni as a director
| “ | And then, the filmmaker who is a true auteur, who is truly trying to take the human condition and make something exquisite, something really beautiful, like as a gift to the world. It's a proper use of one's ability to see. ...Diana takes that thing, her ability to see, and she makes something beautiful, and she lets other people see it! | ” |
| — Cady McClain, in a reference letter[10] | ||
Cignoni is a truly unique voice, showing the beauty and the tragedy of the world in the lyrical, magical worlds that she creates, inhabited by vulnerable and transfixing people. Cignoni's filmography is listed below along with festival acceptances, awards received, and most importantly where you can watch her films.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Poster | Festivals | Awards | Where to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Jade |
|
vimeo | ||
| 2003 | It's So Much Like Luck | 2004 Topanga Film Festival[1] | vimeo | ||
| 2005 | Somewhere in the Background | 2005 Topanga Film Festival | vimeo | ||
| 2009 | Missing | vimeo | |||
| 2011 | Red Moon | vimeo | |||
| 2014 | One Weekend |
|
Audience Choice Award 2014 SaMo Indie[1] | www | |
| 2015 | Crutch | 2015 Sir Charlie Darwin Movie Battle, London[41][42] | vimeo | ||
| 2015 | Palm Trees |
|
Best Narrative Short 2015 SaMo Indie | vimeo | |
| 2016 | Juice | Official Selection 2016 UK WEBFEST[1] | vimeo | ||
| 2016 | Perfect |
|
|
www | |
| 2016 | Bruises |
|
vimeo | ||
| 2017 | Blood Wolf |
|
|
vimeo | |
| 2018 | Lulu |
|
|
vimeo | |
| 2018 | The Sonnet Project | url=https://nysx.org/programs-2/sonnet-project/ | Sonnet 78 | vimeo | |
| 2019 | Snow Child |
|
|
watch | |
| 2019 | Mirrors | vimeo | |||
| 2017 | Desert Mantis |
|
Semi Finalist 2019 Etheria Film Night Screening Series, Cary, NC | https://vimeo.com/215686182[55] | |
| 2021 |
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 "About". GROUND HERO FILM.
- ↑ "Film Fatales | Diana Cignoni". www.filmfatales.org.
- ↑ "Programs".
- ↑ "GROUND HERO FILM". GROUND HERO FILM.
- ↑ www
.divina .at - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Diana Cignoni". IMDb.
- ↑ "Diana Cignoni: Movies, TV, and Bio". www.amazon.com.
- ↑ "Diana Cignoni Movies on iTunes". iTunes.
- ↑ "One Weekend - Movies on Google Play". play.google.com.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "DIANA CIGNONI". Vimeo.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Desk, BWW News. "Stage Raw Announces Its 2019 Theater Award Nominees & Theater Festival Weekend". BroadwayWorld.com.
- ↑ Freeman, Mark. "History and Mission – Odyssey Theatre Ensemble".
- ↑ Weinert-Kendt, Rob (November 19, 2019). "Artistic Director: Ron Sossi". AMERICAN THEATRE.
- ↑ "Der Preis ist heiß". The Price Is Right Wiki.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Zauberspiegel - Derrick und seine Fälle: Folge 207 - Die Reise nach München". www.zauberspiegel-online.de.
- ↑ "Dabo girls". Memory Alpha.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 KG, imfernsehen GmbH & Co. "Der Preis ist heiß (1989): Cast & Crew" – via www.fernsehserien.de.
- ↑ "Geraldine Baron". IMDb.
- ↑ "Welcome". geraldinebaron.info.
- ↑ "#charlielaughton Instagram posts (photos and videos) - Picuki.com". www.picuki.com.
- ↑ Lahr, John. "Caught in the Act". The New Yorker.
- ↑ "Topanga Film Institute The Topanga Film InstituteTopanga Film Institute". Topanga Film Institute.
- ↑ "Odyssey Theatre Ensemble". odysseytheatre.com.
- ↑ "Diana Cignoni theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com.
- ↑ "Diana Cignoni Photos on BroadwayWorld.com". www.broadwayworld.com.
- ↑ "Review: 'Beckett 5' at the Odyssey: five plays, two hours, one sinister ending". Los Angeles Times. January 31, 2017.
- ↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/sliding-hades-25245/
- ↑ "Theater Reviews". The Hollywood Reporter. April 23, 2007.
- ↑ Barrett, Shari. "BWW Reviews: Chekhov Meets Fellini in WHITE MARRIAGE at The Odyssey". BroadwayWorld.com.
- ↑ Lavitt, John. "Braving the Excruciating Excellence of Faith Healer at the Odyssey Theatre - The Hollywood Times".
- ↑ https://smmirror.com/2019/04/faith-healer-mesmerizes-at-the-odyssey/%7Cwidth=30%
- ↑ "John Solomon". IMDb.
- ↑ https://www.newfilmmakersla.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LL.pdf
- ↑ "GROUND HERO - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (July 11, 2009). "JADE "Portrait of a Street Hustler"" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (July 12, 2009). "ITS SO MUCH LIKE LUCK YOU KNOW" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (July 11, 2009). "SOMEWHERE IN THE BACKGROUND" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (October 26, 2010). "MISSING!" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (April 22, 2011). "RED MOON" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ "Watch One Weekend | Prime Video". www.amazon.com.
- ↑ "SIR CHARLIE DARWIN MOVIE BATTLE - ONLY THE BEST SURVIVE!". Art Week. November 17, 2014.
- ↑ "The Audience Has The Power In Darwinian Movie Battle". Londonist. October 28, 2014.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (July 2, 2009). "CRUTCH" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ "Private video on Vimeo". vimeo.com.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (November 19, 2015). "JUICE EPISODE 1" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ "Watch Perfect | Prime Video". www.amazon.com.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (June 29, 2020). "BRUISES teaser" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ "Blood Wolf Trailer".
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (September 10, 2016). "LULU teaser" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ "Sonnet Project Sonnet 78".
- ↑ "The Sonnet Project from NY Shakespeare Exchange".
- ↑ "Snow Child | SNOW CHILD | OxFilm Virtual Cinema". watch.eventive.org.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (September 2, 2020). "MIRRORS teaser" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ CIGNONI, DIANA (September 5, 2020). "MIRRORS Teaser" – via Vimeo.
- ↑ }} "Desert Mantis".
