A lifetime’s career

 
 

five decades of astonishing production


1960-1969

  1. •Mr. Gianni began his career as a photojournalist for the Florence newspaper "La Nazione," covering all aspects of the daily life of Tuscany: sports, entertainment, science, technology, and his favorite, forensics.

1972-1974

  1. •Founded Karma Film, an association of avant-garde filmmakers with philosophic ideals in team filmmaking. Produced underground films "Karma 1 - Errore di Gruppo" and "Karma 2 - A Zen Fable."

1975-1977

  1. •Founder and director of the production company "Film Service." The company filmed and produced numerous films for the advertising and industrial documentary sectors.

  2. •Produced and directed a 16-mm film on the 1977 student movement in Italy for Italian public radio & television station Rai Uno entitled "Great is the disorder under the sky, the situation is excellent."

  3. •Filmed and produced a 60-minute film on Indira Gandhi's coup d'etat in India broadcast as a "special report" and also sold to the German TV station ZDF.

  4. •Filmed and produced a 2-hour reportage in Ladakh (India).

  5. •Filmed and produced a 50-minute film on motherhood, directed by Anna Carini and Annabella Miscuglio.

  6. •Filmed and produced a series of short films on the history of art in collaboration with the cartoonist Lorenzo Taiuti.

  7. •Filmed and produced a 60-minute musical film on the Italian singer & songwriter Francesco Guccini.

1978

  1. •Filmed and collaborated on the feature film "Claro" directed by Glauber Rocha.

1979

  1. •Produced and directed in four 30-minute parts, the program "Man and the Desert in the World" for worldwide distribution by Rai Uno (channel one).

1980

  1. •Produced and directed the 60-minute musical "For the Waning Moon" for Rai Tre (Channel Three).

1981

  1. •Produced and directed the 60-minute film inquiry "Italians in India" for Rai Uno's series "Group Photograph."

1982

  1. •Filmed and co-produced the cinema film "Solej - A Story of Elves."

1982

  1. •Produced and directed a series of short films shot in Japan for Rai Uno's "Colosseum."

1983

  1. •Filmed and produced "Aiurveda," a 60-minute film on traditional Indian medicine, for the anthropological department of University or Rome.

1983

  1. •Produced and directed two anthropological documentaries on traditions and rituals in Orissa and Jugerat, India, for the anthropological department of Rome University

1984

  1. •Produced and directed "The Last Maharajahs," a 60 minute film on Indian kingdoms.

  2. •Filmed, produced, and marketed a series of educational films on Indian cuisine for the home-video market.

1985

  1. •Produced and directed a 60-minute film on the Nepalese monarchy.

  2. •Produced, directed, and marketed a series of educational films on traditional cuisine of Nepal for the home video market.

  3. •Produced and directed five episodes of the new program "Reporter" for Rai Uno.

  4. 1.The war in Afghanistan.

  5. 2.Sikh separatists in India.

  6. 3.Interview with Dhali Lama Dharm Shala.

  7. 4.Opal mining in Australia.

  8. 5.Interview with the prime minister of Jugerat.

1986

  1. •Founded the Associazione Documentaristi Italiani with Gil Rosselini, son of Roberto Rossellini.

  2. •Produced and directed the 75 minute film "The Independent” on the life of the "garimpeiros," the Amazon gold-seekers. Set in Brazil this film was selected for the 1987 Italian Salsomaggiore Festival.

1987

  1. •Filmed the 13-part documentary "African Rainbow," a 2000 Km journey on the Congo River in Zaire on a rubber raft. The series of 30-minute episodes was co-produced in collaboration with Rai Due (Italy) and TeleHachette (France).

  2. •Produced and directed "Stronghold," a 15-minute film on the world of high finance, for Giovanni Minoli's program "Mixer" on Rai Due (Italy).

  3. •Produced and directed "Noventa," a 15-minute film on the world of international espionage, for Giovanni Minoli's program "Mixer" on Rai Due (Italy).

  4. •Produced and directed three 15-minute films for Rai Due's program "Arcobaleno" (rainbow). Episodes on the Tamil tigers in Sri Lanka, the Indian aristocracy, and the WWF’s "Tiger Project."

1988

  1. •Produced and directed a 30-minute film in America for the Rai Due "Mixer" program entitled "Nuclear wars; myths or reality?".

  2. •Produced and directed two 30-minute films for Giovanni Minoli's program "Mixer" on Rai Due (Italy): episode one "The Man from Malindi" in Kenya and episode two "White Hunters" in Zimbabwe.

  3. •Produced "The Bush King," a 35-mm, 110-minute feature film for Italian cinema, commissioned by the Italian Ministry of Tourism and the Arts.

1989

  1. •Produced and directed the 30-minute film "Bridge between East and West," filmed in Turkey for the Rai Due program “Mixer”

  2. •Produced and directed a world exclusive interview with the daughter of Imam Khomeini filmed in Iran and broadcast on Rai Tre (Channel Three) and CBS in the United States.

  3. •Produced and directed "Toscani brava gente," a 90-minute feature film for the Italian cinema, financed by the Italian Film Commission.

1990

  1. •Produced and directed "The Kalash." Filmed in the Hindukush, this is the pilot episode of a documentary series on disappearing ethnic minorities.

1990

  1. •Produced and directed a series of monographs on contemporary Italian artists for the Museum of Modern Art in Prato, Italy.

1991-1995

  1. •Created, wrote, produced, filmed, and directed "The Argonaut," a 20-part documentary series of thirty-minute episodes which explores the ethnic minorities in danger of disappearing. Filmed around the world in Peru, Pakistan, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Brazil, Iraq, India, Algeria, Colombia, Mali, Costa Rica, Thailand, Panama, Burma, and Venezuela.

1996-1997

  1. •Produced and directed "Ethnic Europe," a documentary series which explores European ethnic minorities. The four 30-minute episodes are produced in conjunction with the European Film Commission.

1998

  1. •Produced and directed four additional episodes of "Ethnic Europe."

1999

  1. •Produced and directed a documentary series on Indian culture; ten 15-minute episodes for the program "Un Mondo a Colori" broadcast on Rai Educational channel.

2000

  1. •Produced and directed a 30-minute pilot episode for an unfrequented documentary series on the Cold War, filmed in Russia.

  2. •Produced and directed a 14-part documentary series on human rights in Central America, broadcast on Rai Educational channel

2001

  1. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary on the Subak (water distribution system) in Bali for "Geo," a daily program on Rai Tre (Italy).

  2. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary on the poaching of sturgeon in Daghestan, caviar producing region of the former Soviet Union.

  3. •Produced and directed "Cuore nel gesso," a 55-minute documentary film on famous Italian sculpture.

2002

  1. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary on Shamanism in Siberia.

  2. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary on the Nenet people in Siberia.

  3. •Produced and directed a 30 minute documentary on the beauty of Val D'Orcia in Toscany, Italy.

2003

  1. •Produced and directed a 50-minute documentary on the social politics of Georgia, in the former Soviet Union.

2004

  1. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary for Rai Tre on the emptying of the Aral Sea in Kazakistan, in the former Soviet Union.

  2. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary in New York City on new ways to build public parks.

2005

  1. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary on the Marine National Park of the Arguen Bank in Mauritania. April

  2. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary on the Kampa people, the indomitable shepherds of Tibet.

  3. •Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary film on the Italian opal miners of Coober Pedy, Australia. Mr. Gianni returns after 20 years to update his first exploration in 1985.

2006

  1. •Produced and directed a 50-minute documentary film on eighteenth century Italian explorer Orazio Antinori, filmed in Ethiopia for Rai Educational channel and the University of Perugia. Produced and directed a 30-minute documentary film on the aftermath of the Tsunami in the Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal.

2007

  1. •Produced and directed a two part documentary film in Ladakh, in the Himalayas on the border of Tibet. In episode one, after 30 years, Mr. Gianni returns to film the sacred dance of the monks at Lamayru Monestary and is greeted by a friend he met on his previous journey. In episode two, the life of a herder who raises Pashmina goats.

2008

  1. •Begin work on the documentary film "Florida Cracker Cowboys," a co-production with Self Discovery Productions.

  2. •Exhibition of photographic art printed on canvas in 36 x 48 format. Images are inspired by the accompanying 12-minute documentary film on the sacred dance of Tibetan monks.