This year’s RBIAFF grant recipients will share stories of long-buried traditions, immigrant dreams, pop culture stereotypes and a fevered quest for the perfect plate of pasta.
AGBO and ISDA are thrilled to see these emerging filmmakers bring their projects to life.
The five recipients are:
“St. Joseph,” directed by Maky Rupert (Los Angeles)
Logline: A group of estranged cousins go back to their now vacant childhood home in search of the statue of St. Joseph that their Italian grandmother buried in the yard for good luck thirty years earlier.
“Tiramisu,” directed by Katerina Munis (Los Angeles)
Logline: A Ukrainian immigrant seeks to escape the world inside a little pizzeria, but its Sicilian chef cooks up a different adventure for their night.
“Forgotten Flavors,” directed by Michael Mastronardi (Costa Mesa)
Logline: Forgotten Flavors, is a deeply personal journey into Italian American heritage, documenting a quest to learn and preserve Mike’s late grandmother’s unwritten recipes with the help of his father.
“Pasta Perfetta,” directed by Adriano Valentini (Los Angeles)
Logline: In a world where Italian identity is defined by hashtags and hand gestures, a lonely Italian American man’s mouthwatering pasta pic breaks the internet, launching him into a surreal spiral of digital adoration and empty opulence—all hinging on a picture-perfect plate of pasta hiding one shameful secret: it tastes like garbage.
“Luigi Lookalike,” directed by Luke Salvatore Petronella (New York)
Logline: An Italian American struggling with his identity is thrown into an existential crisis when the world becomes convinced he’s the doppelgänger of a notorious (alleged) criminal—forcing him to confront his own motives, the media, stereotypes, and the bizarre nature of Italian Americans in pop culture.
Congratulations to all the recipients!
Each of these five filmmakers will receive a $10,000 grant to produce their respective film over the coming months. Once completed, a selection committee — comprised of RBIAFF founders Basil Russo, Patricia Russo, and their children Anthony, Joe, and Angela Russo Otstot — will choose one winner to receive an additional $10,000 and a spot in the AGBO Storytellers Collective (StoCo).
StoCo is an alumni network exclusive to those honored through AGBO’s fellowships and competitions. It provides mentorship, industry guidance, and a platform to collaborate with fellow emerging filmmakers. As a supportive community, the Collective empowers its members to continue growing as artists and realizing their creative ambitions.
A private screening of the 2024 RBIAFF winning film, My Kind of People, directed by Joe Picozzi, will be held at the ISDA National Convention this August in Chicago.
The RBIAFF award ceremony is held every year at AGBO Studios in downtown Los Angeles to honor the winning short film and to present the Renaissance Award, which celebrates Italian Americans’ outstanding contributions to their heritage and the entertainment industry.
See past honorees:
Actor and Filmmaker Stanley Tucci: 2025 RBIAFF ‘Renaissance Award’ Winner
Marvel Studios Co-President Louis D’Esposito: 2024 RBIAFF ‘Renaissance Award’ Winner
ABOUT AGBO
Established in 2017 by acclaimed directors Anthony and Joe Russo, AGBO’s mission is to propel the next era of storytelling by developing and producing universe-driven intellectual properties that span film, TV, and interactive. As a powerhouse independent studio founded and operated by a collective of artists with decades of experience, AGBO has consistently shattered audience records with its globally resonant content. In recent years, AGBO has achieved record-breaking success in both box office and streaming, setting new standards in global entertainment. The Russo Brothers and AGBO have had 15 number one global openings with over seven billion in box office including Marvel’s highest grossing film of all time: Avengers: Endgame. Everything Everywhere All at Once broke records for A24 by winning seven Academy Awards including Best Picture in 2023. The Russo Brothers-directed film The Gray Man sits in the top six of Netflix’s “most viewed of all time” list, and the Chris Hemsworth-starrer Extraction has become Netflix’s most successful franchise to date. Additionally, following its April 2023 release, the first season of Citadel was Prime Video’s second most-watched new original series outside the U.S., with it’s Italian & Indian series, Citadel: Diana & Citadel: Honey Bunny, with both being in the top watched new original series worldwide. AGBO has just completed principal photography on the Amazon MGM film The Bluff directed by Frank E. Flowers and has commenced production on Citadel Season 2 in London with Joe Russo directing. Recently announced this summer, AGBO will be producing, alongside Marvel, the Russo Brothers-directed films Avengers: Doomsday set to release May 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars set to release May 2027.
The Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum (RBIAFF) is presented by AGBO, in collaboration with the Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA).
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