Film and Television Producer & ExecutiveGrowing up in both Italy’s quiet countryside and the outsized cities of China gave transnational producer Selena Leoni unique viewpoints of the world. Her love for art and technology led her to City University of Hong Kong, where she earned her BAS in New Media in 2015. In Hong Kong, she worked as a multimedia content producer for over 5 years and developed several multimedia projects focused on social inclusion. Selena later attended UCLA’s Producers Program and earned an MFA Degree in 2020.As an experienced film, television, and multimedia producer and executive, Selena developed and produced various projects, including feature films, short films, VR scenarios, documentaries, and commercials. Many of her projects have played and won awards in Academy Award-qualifying festivals such as Austin Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and Indy Shorts International Film Festival.Selena is a Producer fellow in Film Independent's Project Involve 2021 and a member of BAFTA Newcomers. Her most recent credits include Wayfarer Studios' feature film SMILE OR HUG which premiered at Bentonville Film Festival, and Bryant Griffin's feature debut YOUNG KINGS which won the ARRI Franz Wieser Grant. Selena's interests lie in developing globalized character-driven stories that give underrepresented groups a platform and a voice. Her passion is for female-led thrillers, biopunk, dark comedy, and crime dramas.

© Selena Leoni. All rights reserved.

NOTABLE SCREENINGS:
- LGBTQ+ Short Film Showcase (presented by NewFest) at the NYC Department of Education's 2023 GSA Summit
- NewFest 2022 Short Film Program In partnership with the NYC Department of Education

All i ever wanted

Released, 2022
Film Independent, Project Involve

Rom-com obsessed teen Christine has always longed for the picture-perfect romance - but she's soon confronted with the fact that her ideal prince charming might actually be a princess charming instead.

Director: Erin Lau
Writer: Van B. Nguyen
Producer: Selena Leoni | Fiona Hardingham
Executive Producer: Calvin Lam
Director of Photography: Jon Pham

Cast:
Cathy Bui, Maria Zhang, Elyse Dinh, Long Nguyen, Connor McRaith

AWARDS:
BEST COMEDY - HollyShorts 2022
BEST PRODUCER - Oniros Film Awards New York 2022

HARD

Released, 2022
Film Independent, Project Involve

A teenage boy experiences awkwardness and struggles to navigate the uncertainties of his sexuality after his first time with a girl doesn't go as expected, forcing him to confront his feelings of desire for his best friend.

Director: Robin Takao D'Oench
Writer: Corey Dashaun
Producer: Selena Leoni | Fiona Hardingham
Executive Producer: Calvin Lam
Director of Photography: José Andrés Solórzano Becerra

Cast:
Xavier Clyde, Chris Pearson, Nia Sondaya

AWARDS:
● AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS - New York City Short Film Festival 2022
● ALTERNATIVE SPIRIT AWARD (LGBTQ) SHORT - Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival 2022

THE BOND

Released, 2022
DevelUp Media

When an incarcerated pregnant woman goes into labor, she must fight to stay connectedto her baby in a system built to keep them apart.

Writer/Director: Jahmil Eady
Producer: Selena Leoni, Reina Higashitani
Director of Photography: Gionatan (Jonni) TecleCast: Ashley Wilkerson, Yolonda Ross, Kathryn Erbe, Jonathan Medina, Keith Sutliff, AmberLi, Jennifer Lee Laks, Hunter Sloan Bodine

AWARDS:
● AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS - Atlanta Film Festival 2022
SPECIAL JURY MENTION - Atlanta Film Festival 2022
● HONORABLE MENTION JURY AWARD - Bentonville Film Festival 2022
● GRANT PRIZE - Marsh on Washinton Film Festival 2022

HEARTLAND

Released, 2021
DevelUp Media

A woman attempts to immortalize her dying grandfather using VR technology, but her obsession with documenting begins to push them apart.

Writer/Director: Jahmil Eady
Producer: Selena Leoni
Director of Photography: Jacqueline ChanCast: Maxine Goynes, Haskell V. Anderson III, Mia-Carina Mollicone

AWARDS:
● AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS - Heartland Indy Shorts International Film Festival 2021
● WINNER - AUDPOP’S 2021 Women's Film Challenge
● BEST LIVE ACTION SCI-FI SHORT - Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival 2021

THE FOLLOWER

Released, 2021
Little Paws Pictures

A social media influencer discovers that she has a secret follower threatening her privacy and safety.

Director: Jahmil Eady
Producer/Writer: Selena Leoni
Director of Photography: Jacqueline ChanCast:Kimberly Long

AWARDS:
BEST SUPER SHORT - 1st Monthly Film Festival 2021

THE LUCKY ONE
神過的日子

Released, 2021

A man makes a wish to become a God but accidentally switches with one of the four goddesses who has been playing Mahjong in heaven since the beginning of time.

Writer/Director: Yichi Zhang
Producer: Selena Leoni
Director of Photography: Parida TantiCast: Kuozheng Hao, Shenli Zhao, Huabiao He, Zihan Zhao, Gloria Ho, Xinyu Zhang

AWARDS:
● BEST FANTASY - Rome International Movie Awards 2022
● BEST DRAMA FILM - Europe Film Festival UK 2022
● BEST COMEDY SHORT - Tagore Internation Film Festival 2022

Step 9

Festival, 2023

When a college student is kicked out of her dorm, she must reconnect with her alcoholic father.

Writer/Director: Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz
Producer: Leah Hulgin
Cinematographer: Heath SaundersCast: Keana Cowden, Frank Collison, Oscar Best

Dream Lollipops
好夢棒棒糖

Post, 2023

In 1941 Shanghai, Tan and her disabled daughter Su paint and sell lollipops to make a living, but when a stranger appears wanting to do business, the dream Tan has built starts to collapse.

Writer/Director: Yichi Zhang
Producer: Selena Leoni, Changhui Shi
Director of Photography: Hansuk SohnCast: Crystal J. Huang, Ruike Kuang

The Night

Released, 2021
UCLA

Three students recount drastically different versions of a traumatic incident. What is the truth? And what does the pursuit of truth mean in an indifferent justice system?

Director: Lia Lenart
Writer: Reina Higashitani
Producer: Selena Leoni
Director of Photography: Xiang HeCast: Kathryn Schott, Robert Arriaga, Isaac Ramsey, Su Castillo, Rogelio Douglas III

Eve

Released, 2021
Spoil Productions

A young bride's queer sexuality awakening is triggered at the wedding reception with her new husband.

Director: Joe Solomon
Writer: Laurence Tratalos
Co-Producer: Selena Leoni
Cinematographer: Jonathan MooreCast: Sophie Delora, Richard Southgate, Miranda Foster, Kevin Fuller

AWARDS:
● BEST COMEDY INTERNATIONAL - AltFF Alternative Film Festival 2021
● BEST LGBTQ SHORT - Florence Film Awards 2021
● BEST LGBTQ SHORT - Hollywood Gold Awards 2021
● BEST LGBTQ SHORT - Milan Gold Awards 2021
● BEST LGBTQ SHORT - Virgin Spring Cinefest 2021

EID MUBARAK

Festival, 2022
Creator+

A privileged six-year-old Pakistani girl embarks on a mission to save her beloved pet goat from being eaten on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Azha, only to learn the meaning of sacrifice.

Writer/Director: Mahnoor Euceph
Executive Producer: Selena Leoni
Producer: Benjamin O'Keefe, Kamil ChimaCast: Rubab Rasheed, Momina Salman, Zoha Rahman, Emmad Butt

ESSENTIALLY AMY

Festival, 2022
Creator+

A young Chinese American girl working at her local grocery store during the height of the pandemic must confront growing racism towards Asian Americans while mitigating her mother’s expectations and personal bias towards Black Americans at home.

Writer/Director: Ari Groobman
Executive Producer: Selena Leoni
Producer: Benjamin O'Keefe, Mitchell Schwartz, Ryan RamseyCast: Stacy Chu, Ping Liu, Brenda Valencia, Seyi Ayorinde, Hidekun Hah, Heather Turman, Jim Todd

AWARDS:
● BEST SHORT - Los Angeles International Film Festival 2022
● OUTSTANDING SHORT - Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2022

JEROME

Festival, 2023
Creator+

JEROME (mid-teens) struggles with feelings of inadequacy when the annual Fathers and Sons event forces him to confront the absence of his own father; and he deals with it the only way he knows how—basketball.

Writer/Director: Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz
Executive Producer: Selena Leoni
Producer: Benjamin O'Keefe, Santi NaidooCast: Elias Ferguson, Aries Sanders

© Selena Leoni. All rights reserved.

YOUNG KINGS

Post-production

Diondre Howell tries to re-adjust to civilian life after he returns home from Iraq during the height of the Iraq war in 2005. As he copes with the scars of war, he increasingly becomes a threat to those he cares about the most - his family.

Writer/Director: Bryant T. Griffin
Producer: Selena Leoni
Director of Photography: Vittoria Campaner

Cast: Vince Washington, Vaughn Wilkinson, Tarra Riggs, Kirby Griffin

AWARDS:
ARRI Franz Wiesner Grant 2021 - WINNER

SMILE OR HUG

2022 - Wayfarer Studio

After being dumped on her 30th birthday, Trish Santos - an online art teacher - works through her loneliness with the help of her students, two best friends, and a box of homemade self-help tapes given to her by the mysterious “mind painter” Doctor Garcia.

Director/Director of Photography: Paul Spranger
Producer: Selena Leoni, Carlo Cosio
Writer: Chelsea Javier, Paul Spranger

Cast: Chelsea Javier, Danny Trejo, Andrea Navedo, Chris Aquilino, Christian Henley

AWARDS:
Mixed Asian Film Festival 2022 - BEST FEATURE FILM

PRESS:

© Selena Leoni. All rights reserved.

© Selena Leoni. All rights reserved.

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