​​Writer/Director/Executive Producer


Winner of 17 Best Picture Awards, 9 Best Director Awards, 7 Best Screenplay Awards, 3 Best Cinematography Awards, 3 Best Editor Awards and 3 Best Sound Design Awards at international film festivals, including five more nominations for Best Feature and five for Best Director. 


"Zelko's directing is outstanding."​  -Alvaro Gutierrez, Shine On Hollywood Magazine

https://pro-labs.imdb.com/name/nm0954576/​

BIOGRAPHY

           Giovanni Mauro Zelko is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor, sound designer, author and fine-art photographer / painter.  He is best known for writing, directing and executive producing two international award-winning independent feature films, the neo-noir crime thriller L.A. 4ORCE and the international political thriller The Algerian, (released as Sleeper Cell: The Algerian in N. America).  He also executive produced the Shakespeare feature film H4and the neo-western action film, 3 Tickets To Paradise.  In addition to penning 15 feature screenplays, he has also published a book of film theory, "Living the Dream" available on Amazon.  In 2007, Zelko released his collection of black & white fine-art photographs & poems as a coffee table book, "Body of Poetry".  As an avid traveler, he has visited 63 countries where he has photographed global architecture, landscapes and cultures.  His photography & mixed media paintings have been presented in galleries in California & Florida. 


            After graduating from Boston University's film school in 1996 with a Bachelor's of Science in Broadcasting & Film, along with a Minor in English literature, he worked as a Hollywood lighting technician on films and television while writing his screenplays, producing & directing films.  His 50,000 hours of on-set experience spans 30 years and includes work on many  A-list Oscar winning movies, including Avatar 1 & 2, Mank and Oppenheimer, working for and learning from some of the best filmmakers in the world.


Zelko made his feature film directorial debut with The Algerianand gained considerable attention with the film's 19 awards at international film festivals from Los Angeles to London, including Best Director, Best Feature, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Sound Design, Best Editing and an Audience Choice Award, amongst others.  Critics cited the film's expression of the evolving nature of cultural identity and religious perspective in the 21st century as reasons for deeming the feature a poignant social impact film.  The Algerian went on to have a limited theatrical release across the United States in 21 cities after its award winning film festival run, and was honored with an out of competition screening at the Cannes Film Festival & Market in 2016.  His two prior short films, Theogony and The Interview won a number of awards including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actress and Best Fight Choreography at film festivals, and Theogony which was filmed on 35mm, screened at the prestigious Cannes Shorts Corner at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.  The Shakespeare feature film adaptation of Henry IV parts 1 & 2, reimagined as H4, (the modern title was coined by Zelko,) was Executive Produced with Harry Lennix and was chosen as an official selection at the prestigious Chicago International Film Festival, the Stratford Upon Avon Shakespeare Festival, the Boston Shakespeare Society Convention, the Indie Memphis Film Festival, the N.Y. Oktober Film Festival and the British Black & Asian Shakespeare Festival.  Zelko has also co- Executive Produced the action adventure neo-western feature, 3 Tickets To Paradise which he re-imagined in post production as a new commercial version with a new edit, sound and music design which he oversaw, gaining it an international release by Lionsgate.   Zelko’s latest feature film production, LA 4ORCE, has won 46 awards, including multiple Best Director, Writer & Producer awards.  The full festival list and more is available on the Press Kit page of this website.


         In addition to feature films, his production company Zelko Films has also produced multiple music videos, three travel-leisure episodics and is developing a half hour episodic television series, Dante's Inferno.  An avid screenwriter, Zelko has completed a total of 15 feature screenplays, many of which he plans to direct and produce in addition to the two he has already released as writer-director. In addition to writing, directing and producing, Zelko is a true Renaissance Filmmaker who also edits, sound designs, shoots and acts in his films.