Giada Colagrande is an Italian film director and actress born in Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy. She pursued her education in Italy, Switzerland, and Australia before moving to Rome in 1995 to focus on video art and documentary filmmaking. From 1997 to 2000, Colagrande collaborated with the art project VOLUME, creating video portraits of seven prominent contemporary artists.
Colagrande's early filmography includes three short films: "Carnaval" (1997),"Fetus – 4 brings death" (1999),and "n.3" (2000). Her feature film debut, "Aprimi il Cuore" (Open My Heart),premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2002 and received international recognition, including the Prix de l'avenir at the Paris Cinéma festival and a nomination for Best New Director at the Silver Ribbon awards. The film was released in Italy by Lucky Red and in the USA by Strand Releasing.
In 2005, Colagrande directed her second feature, "Before it Had a Name," a co-written and co-starring effort with Willem Dafoe. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, was screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and received worldwide distribution from Millennium under the title "Black Widow."
Colagrande's third feature, "A Woman," was written and directed by her, starring Willem Dafoe and Jess Weixler. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2010 and screened at various international film festivals.
In addition to her feature films, Colagrande has also worked on short films, including "The Woman Dress" (2012),the third installment of the PRADA series "The Miu Miu Women's Tales." She has also directed the feature-length documentary "Bob Wilson's Life & Death of Marina Abramovic" (2012),which explores the life and work of performance artist Marina Abramovic. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was screened at the MoMA in New York and the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Colagrande's ongoing collaboration with Abramovic has resulted in the documentary "The Abramovic Method" (2013),which was presented at the Venice Film Festival and is currently being shown in various museums worldwide.
