“My Kind of People,” directed by Joe Picozzi, has been awarded the top prize at the 7th Annual Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum fellowship program.
Since its inception in 2017, RBIAFF has supported emerging voices in cinema by awarding over $400,000 in grants to more than 50 talented filmmakers. This year marks a continued celebration of Italian American culture, language, and heritage through the lens of creative storytelling.
The AGBO Storytellers Collective, an alumni network exclusive to those honored through AGBO’s fellowships and competitions, will provide the 2024 winner with 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.
“Supporting emerging storytellers is at the heart of AGBO’s mission, and the RBIAFF embodies that vision by amplifying stories which explore the Italian American experience,” said AGBO’s Chief Creative Officer Angela Russo-Otstot. “It’s an honor to witness these filmmakers contribute to and expand a collective narrative that speaks to our cultural community and beyond. We were excited by the work of all the finalists this year, and we congratulate Joe Picozzi for crafting a subversive, humorous, and universally resonant narrative that is deftly executed through his impressive filmmaking.”
In January 2024, AGBO hosted the first annual RBIAFF event where Louis D’Esposito, Co-President of Marvel Studios, was presented with the inaugural “Renaissance Award,” a distinguished honor to celebrate the outstanding contributions to Italian American heritage and the entertainment industry. Joe Picozzi will screen his winning film at a future RBIAFF event at AGBO in Downtown Los Angeles.
AGBO recently released “Citadel: Honey Bunny,” the latest installment in the world of Citadel, which debuted as Prime Video’s most-watched series worldwide during its launch weekend, and “Citadel: Diana,” which broke records for Amazon Italy premiering at number one in Italy, the U.S. and UK, and entered the top five in nearly 150 countries. It was recently announced that AGBO is producing “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” alongside Marvel. Upcoming releases for AGBO include “The Electric State” directed by the Russo Brothers with Netflix and “The Legend of Ochi,” Isaiah Saxon’s feature film directorial debut with A24. In addition to AGBO’s record-breaking releases with “The Gray Man” and both “Extraction” installments for Netflix, AGBO has produced multiple films for emerging filmmakers including Sam Hargrave for the “Extraction” franchise, The Daniels for the Academy Award-Winning Best Picture film “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Natalie Erika James for “Relic” which was named a National Board of Review top ten film of 2020, and Ari Costa and Eren Celeboglu for the Asa Butterfield-Natalia Dyer horror thriller “All Fun and Games.” AGBO’s upcoming production, “The Bluff”, for Amazon MGM starring Priyanka Chopra-Jonas has another emerging director at the helm, Frank E. Flowers, directing his second feature film.
For more information on The Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum, please visit https://agbo.com/community/the-russo-brothers-italian-american-filmmaker-forum
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 13 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., and fourth most-watched worldwide at that time. 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. https://www.agbo.com/
CONTACT:
Marian Koltai-Levine, mkoltai@agbo.com
Sarah Caruso, scaruso@agbo.com