NICOLE LEGHISSA
Author and director
I am a documentary author and a filmmaker.
I directed reportages and documentaries for RAI, ARTE, Histoire and Associated Press Television News.
I am currently a consultant filmmaker for The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), a UNESCO programme. Together with OWSD and other UN organizations, I travelled the world – mainly in Africa and Asia – giving visibility to researchers and communities that are generally under-exposed in global media.
I am interested in human beings, in their personal journeys, challenges and struggles. I like to get closer to their unique lives rattled by History, and to contribute spotlighting their experiences while they float minuscule in a reluctant Universe.
Coming from a family of refugees and growing up in a border town – Trieste in Italy – troubled by conflicts and ethnic diversity, I have always been curious of geo-political dynamics and different cultures. I graduated in International and Diplomatic Sciences with a thesis in macro-economy on the end of the Socialist Economical System and its impact in Cuba.
While In Havana I dived into many interesting personal stories that intrigued me more than academic research.
It became clear that I wanted to be a story-teller. I moved to Rome where I worked for theatre festivals and television, being executive producer, assistant director and researcher for British and North-American independent production companies producing long feature historical documentaries, broadcasted on PBS, Discovery Channel, Channel 4 and HBO. I learnt by doing, starting from scratch, becoming step by step the author and director I am today.
I am particularly proud of three films I directed: the short film “Ecoute la mer”, a dreamy fairy tale about friendship shot in Palestine with talent and crew of different nationalities and religions.
“The Weak Current”, a documentary that intertwines colonialism and neocolonialism in the Republic of Congo, aired on Histoire and RAI, premiered at Fespaco Film Festival in Burkina Faso and several other festivals. Eventually “Science in Exile”, a documentary on refugee-scientists fleeing from war zones – Syria, Yemen and Iraq – that premiered at the World Science Forum in Jordan and has been screened in more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa as well as in the United States and Canada.
