“I make films about people who are trying to survive their own honesty.”
Joe Bongiovanni grew up in a small city in upstate New York, the son of a mechanic and a schoolteacher. He studied literature at SUNY Binghamton before moving to New York City, where he spent three years as a production assistant on commercial sets — work he describes as “the best film school I never enrolled in.”
His debut feature, AFTER THE WIRE (2021), was shot in 18 days on a budget of $180,000 and premiered at AFI Fest, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature. His follow-up, MERIDIAN (2022), screened in the main slate at the New York Film Festival. His third film, CARBON AND COPPER (2023), premiered at Sundance and earned him a Special Jury Prize at SXSW.
Bongiovanni works in the tradition of the American independent — close to the bone, character-first, shot on location with small crews. He is currently in development on his fourth feature.
We make films about people on the edge of themselves.
We work with small crews, real locations, and actors who are willing to go somewhere dangerous.
We are not interested in comfort.
Bongiovanni Films was founded on the belief that cinema is the last honest art form. We operate in the tradition of the American independent — raw, character-driven, shot close to the bone. Our films are made with limited resources and unlimited commitment. We believe that constraint is not a limitation; it is a discipline. Every dollar on screen is a decision. Every frame is a choice. We make films to disturb, to illuminate, to leave a mark.
Elena Vasquez has shot two of Bongiovanni's three features. Her work is defined by a commitment to available light and a refusal to make anything look prettier than it is. She trained under Rodrigo Prieto and has shot documentary work across four continents.
James Okafor shot MERIDIAN over 18 days in Detroit with a crew of seven. His background in photojournalism gives his work an immediacy that Bongiovanni calls “the only kind of beauty I trust.” He is currently in pre-production on his own debut feature.
Sarah Kline has edited all three Bongiovanni features. She works in the Avid, cuts long, and finds the film in the room. Her instinct for rhythm and silence is the invisible architecture of everything Bongiovanni Films has made.