Livia De Paolis is a rockstar in production. Despite the fact that her family owned De Paolis I.N.C.I.R, a Rome studio, she has built a name for herself taking on many aspects of the entertainment industry. She oversees all elements of production — including screenwriting, directing, producing, and acting. Livia has established herself in a number of locations, including Italy, New York, and, most recently, London. In New York City, she focused her work on contemporary theater and produced the feature film Emoticon and the short film Awestruck. Livia has recently returned to London, where she is promoting her new feature film, "The Lost Girls," which will be released on June 17h. If her journey couldn't get any more impressive, she has also worked with non-profit organizations such as the 52nd Street Project and hopes to work with more in the future. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about Livia’s upbringing, short films, humanitarian work, and love for theater.

Where are you based?
I’m currently based in London, as that makes it easier for me to visit my dad who lives in Rome. I lived in NY for a long time though, and I still feel that’s home for me.

Your grandfather founded De Paolis I.N.C.I.R. in Rome Italy. During its run it housed the productions of over 2000 films. How did growing up around these movie sets shape your career projection?
It shaped my career projection in the sense that it made me consider acting as a professional choice from a very young age — little did I know! Growing up in that environment I always thought that’s what I wanted to do and that I would eventually fall into it, but actually the case was pretty much the opposite as my family was completely adverse to the idea of me becoming an actress and they, not only discouraged me, but also deliberately interfered.

I remember once I asked my aunt for an introduction with a producer and her introduction was literally: “This is my niece Livia, she wants to be an actress, can you please help me convince her this is really just not for her?” I cannot emphasize enough how demoralizing that was, but then again if I’d had it very easy in Italy I probably would not have moved to New York. So, I’m happy for the way things ended up working out. Another thing I’m grateful for, that I feel came from having been surrounded by all kinds of filmmaking professionals from a very young age, is that I feel filmmaking is a “natural” thing to do and I very very rarely get star struck.

Do you have a favorite film that was filmed at this studio?
The first to come to mind are Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, Antonioni’s Red Desert, Pasolini’s The Gospel According to Matthew. As a child I loved spaghetti westerns. They made a ton of them at the studios with these actors called Bud Spencer and Terence Hill — they were Italian actors who had changed their names to sound American. These spaghetti western movies were all in Italian, and I had so much fun watching them.

Although you earned a Master's degree in Philosophy from the University 'Sapienza' of Rome, you moved to New York shortly after to pursue contemporary theater. Does your degree help with your current work?
I would not say so, but I think it’s good to develop critical thinking at a young age, it kind of makes you look at things with an inquisitive attitude. I think it’s good not to take things for face value. Of course having lived in different countries and speaking different languages also helps with that.

What did you love the most about New York Theater?
I love how daring and raw it can be. I also love how accessible it is, and the sense of community it provided for me.

You wrote, directed, starred in and produced the feature film Emoticon and did the same in your short film Awestruck. How are you able to juggle all aspects of production? Is there anything you enjoy over the other? What made you decide to take on all the roles?
I started writing the script with my friend and colleague from the theater community Sarah Nerboso. I had no idea I was going to direct it. I just thought I’d produce it and act in it. It was however already clear that I wanted to work with a female director. But when I set up to look for the young female director to direct Emoticon all the ladies I was able to get in touch with were just out of film school, did not have a lot of experience, and also their vision was very distant from what I had envisioned for the film while writing it. I guess through the process of writing the screenplay I had developed such a strong vision for the film that in the end it became clear I was going to have to direct it myself. That decision was very unexpected to me as directing had never been anywhere in my realm of dreams and aspirations, and yet, I can see now how it is probably what I feel the most comfortable doing. As for juggling all aspects, part was a necessity, but I also must admit I enjoy the level of concentration that being on both sides of the camera requires and that’s probably the main reason I was happy to do it again and again.

Can you tell us a little bit about these two films?
I made Emoticon first, it is an original and sort of autobiographical script I wrote with my friend, Sarah Nerboso, from the theater community. It is a micro budget film set in NYC. The whole thing was a massive challenge. From finding my closest collaborators, to casting, to the actual making of the film. Even though I had been on numerous movie sets before I was definitely not clear on how I would then edit the footage. I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. I was immensely lucky though as I had Alex Disenhof as my Director of Photography then; he is so incredibly talented, and I really felt that he had my back all through the shoot. Once I went through the editing process and completed the film I had caught the filmmaking bug and felt that I could and would definitely do it again. I made my short film right before Emoticon was released because I was really itching to be immersed in the work again. These two films are very different from one another. With Awstruck I felt less pressure and just wanted to experiment. It’s a sort of surreal and magical short story set in Hawaii, which provided a whole another set of challenges. I love both of my first two filmmaking efforts in different ways, though I probably love Emoticon a bit more.

You moved to London in 2019, right before the pandemic! How was this transition? How has the adjustment been, especially during a pandemic?
I moved to London after the passing of my mother. I was mourning and was just not ready to go back to my life as usual. I also felt I did not have the amount of energy that living in New York requires. And then of course I met my current boyfriend, and I really felt I wanted to give the relationship my best shot — so I moved. In a way, because of how things happened, with my mourning process and also with the making of the film, and then with the pandemic, I still feel London is a very new and sort of foreign city for me. I don’t have a lot of friends in London, but the few I do have are truly great. I also love the fact that by being in Europe I can visit my dad, who is now 86, more often. I was not able to go visit him for over a year during the pandemic and being close to my family has become more of a priority now.

In London you developed your second feature film The Lost Girls. Can you tell us a bit about this film?
In The Lost Girls four generations of Darling women struggle with returning to reality following their adventures with Peter Pan in Neverland. Like her grandmother (Redgrave) and her mother Jane (Richardson) before her, Wendy (that’d be me) must break Pan’s spell and uncover what’s real in a world full of fantasy. Far from being a family movie or the young adults tale that could easily come to mind when thinking of the mainstream version of Peter Pan, The Lost Girls could best be described as an arthouse hyper realistic take on the life of four generations of Darling women who seem to be affected by a condition scientists have recently identified as “hyperphantasia”: the ability to have extreme or far above average mental sensory imagery occurring both when imagining things and when recreating memories stored in the brain. When thinking of the magical adventures of Peter Pan in Neverland it is very easy to forget how Peter was abandoned in Kensington Gardens in London, he was left behind by his parents and that is the destiny he shares with all The Lost Boys and with our young Wendy, whose mother Jane mysteriously disappeared right after giving birth, and she yet has to return. The movie has at its core trauma and abandonment, however tonally the themes are approached with a sense of lightheartedness. By looking at four generations of Darlings and how they evolve through different times The Lost Girls ultimately speaks to women of all ages as it contemplates the contradictory human yearning for freedom and safety in a moving and upbeat story of motherhood, re-enchantment, and love. I can also tell you that this film will always have a very special place in my heart.

How does London differ from New York in terms of current contemporary theater?
I have to admit I am not as prepared to make a comparison here because I have not had the chance to explore the London theater scene as much as I would have loved to. This is partially because of how absorbed I have been with making The Lost Girls, and partially due to the pandemic. Once theaters reopened I did go to see a few shows though, and one thing I truly loved was how packed the theaters were. People might be taking their time to go back to the cinema, but I think theater audiences in London ran back to their theaters. I feel that theater is so imbued in English culture, so many pubs have a theater upstairs. I just do not know how these smaller theaters are doing after the pandemic, as the shows I did go see were on the West End and at the National Court Theatre. My general feeling is that theater in New York is a bit more daring, and I think that’s due to the real melting pot that the city and the whole country really is. I think there are more variety of voices in New York, and as I always say in New York pretty much anything goes — which is something I really love.

While living in NYC you worked with the 52nd Street Project — a non-profit organization that brings inner city kids together with professional theater artists. Can you tell us a bit about this organization and your work with them?
Before making Emoticon, and for many years, I was pretty much completely immersed in the New York theater community. I met Willie Reale, the founder of the 52nd Street Project while working on a summer production with New York Stage and Film. Once I learned about the 52nd Street Project I immediately wanted to get involved and I started volunteering for the organization. It’s basically an after-school program for inner city kids that also puts up regular productions of short plays written by the kids themselves alongside professional playwrights in which the kids get to act while directed by either professional directors or professional actors. I was enrolled in a sort of ‘big sister’ program where I had a mentee’ — one of the brightest young girls I’ve ever met. She was a proud grade A student. We met once a week and we developed a great relationship over a few years — we’re still in touch. With the project we, my mentee and I took part in a ping pong tournament (and got 3rd prize), and I was also involved as a stagehand in the kids theater productions. It was some of the sweetest time I had in New York and in my life, really. One thing I will always cherish about the Project is their motto which is written around for everyone to see: ‘We All Belong. We All Get Along”.

Why is youth theater so important?
I think theater is so integral to our culture and I consider it precious. I think it’s something that kids can easily love and with which they can be positively challenged in so many ways. In my opinion it is probably the most human creative expression in the sense that you literally need the human body for the transmission of content. It requires and develops memory and proprioception, but most importantly it provides that opportunity to be part of a company, to make something creative along with other people, to share a common goal and to be part of a community. In my world, every kid should get the chance to play in front of an audience at least once.

We were told that in the future you plan to get involved with youth theater in London along with the Refugee Trauma Initiative, an organization that develops resources to help refugees build approaches to manage stress, insecurity and trauma. What are your plans to get involved in the future? Why is this important to you?
In terms of youth theater I’ve only done some research and there are a couple of organizations I’d be keen to get involved with. I love working with young actors as they are so giving and fun to be around. I do consider theater integral to our culture, and also very selfishly miss being in that environment very much. I have never worked with refugees, but the issue has become more and more pressing to me, especially with the current horrific situation in Ukraine. But even before this nonsensical and horrifying war began I was already feeling beyond uneasy with the way western countries are turning a blind eye when it comes to people that are forced to leave everything behind and move because of war and because of conditions that we, as western countries, are ultimately responsible for. It is really a shame, or at least I feel this way, and that’s why when I met Zarlasht Halaimzai, founder of the Refugee Trauma Initiative, I immediately felt that was my chance to do something about it. I also feel volunteering to help people that are less fortunate keeps me grounded and gives me a sense of perspective, which I think I can always expand on.

The world feels like it is flipped on its head these days. How are you staying positive?
I’ve become more and more aware of how I find the most comfort and pleasure in the simplest things: my morning coffee, sitting in the sun, going for a walk with my dog, a heartfelt deep conversation with a good friend, cooking a nice meal, and spending time with loved ones. I’m trying to consciously cultivate time for simple things that give me joy. I’m trying to prioritize giving time to these things and also I’m making an effort in being aware of the type of interactions I have; I try to cultivate kindness in my everyday interactions, as I feel that we could all use a bit more kindness in our everyday life.

Theater was one of the many industries that was really affected by the pandemic. How do you see the industry bouncing back today?
I was so happy to go to the theater in London and find myself in a sold-out room every single time I went. I honestly do not know how the industry is bouncing back though – a lot of shows had to shorten their runs – it’s very tough for every industry.

What does your new normal look like?
Because I lost my mom in 2018 and moved to London at the end of that year, and then about a year after that we went into lockdown and I also was somehow miraculously able to make my movie — I frankly did not get to develop a “normal” in the past several years. I do simple things that give me joy, I work a lot, and I try to spend as much time as possible with my loved ones. That’s all I’ve got in my new normal for now.

What is your motto in life?
Make Love Not War — not so original but sadly still so relevant.

To learn more about Livia De Paolis, please follow her via the platforms below:
Facebook: Livia De Paolis
Instagram: @liviadepaolis

Team Credits:
Photographer: Jemima Marriott
Stylist: JO Shippen
Hair & Makeup: Emma Osborne @onerepresents

Livia De Paolis - So Much More Than a Triple Threat