Gianluca Morganti was born in Queens, NY, to a native New York mother and an Italian father. Following in his father’s footsteps, he worked as a line cook and a cheesemonger (yes, a real job title), testing recipes and writing menus.

Gianluca moved to Quito, Ecuador to “find himself as a writer,” working for a newspaper as a travel writer while completing his first novel. After Ecuador, he helped create TIFO, a Montreal-based soccer magazine published in English, French, and Italian. He partnered with Copa90, named by Wall Street Journal as one of the 50 best blogs in the world, to cover soccer culture in America.

He received his MFA from Columbia University in film directing and screenwriting, where he directed The Cook, a short film that played at New Filmmakers NY and London Independent Film Awards. He also directed his first feature-length documentary and produced many shorts. He received BA in History and Religious Studies at George Washington University. Gianluca speaks (almost) four languages and has lived in too many places to list.

He is currently based in Los Angeles and New York while developing his first narrative feature film.