Daphne
Di Cinto
Screenwriter | Director | Actor | Public speaker
Daphne Di Cinto is a Black Italian screenwriter, director, actor and producer. She began her film and theatre studies in Rome, where she focused on acting at Scuola di Cinema, while getting her degree in Communication Science at Roma Tre University. She attended the faculty of Cinema at Sorbonne University in Paris before moving to New York for her Master in Fine Arts at the Actors Studio Drama School. At the moment she is based in London.
As a screenwriter, she has developed both features and series within various genres, from comedy to sci-fi, with a keen interest in topics such as historical memory, identity, migrations and the female gaze.
She is known for playing the Duchess of Hasting in the Netflix series Bridgerton.
While developing a series based on the life of Alessandro de’ Medici, Daphne has written, directed and produced the short film Il Moro-The Moor, her directorial debut, which has garnered success both in the festival circuit and in prestigious academic institutions, winning among others the Oscar Qualifying Reel Sisters Film Festival in New York.
Following a petition started by Di Cinto, the Council of Florence has voted in favour of recognising Alessandro de’ Medici’s name by placing it in front of his tombstone, where it previously had been omitted.
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Cultured Focus Visionary in Film Award during the 79th Venice Film Festival.
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Leader of Change in Creativity Award at the 2023 Black Carpet Awards.
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Best Director of a Foreign Language Short at the Madrid International Film Festival.
"There's so much more to tell and there's so much more intersection to find. If we can finally normalize the fact that Afro-Europeans exist and have incredible history, it would change the lives of so many people today."
The Hollywood Reporter, December 4, 2023.
"I Feel that I have a Duty": ' THR Presents' Q&A With the Directors of Four Oscars Shorts Contenders
Daphne Di Cinto
