ABOUT NOIAFT
Mission Statement
The National Organization of Italian Americans in Film & Television (NOIAFT) aims to connect and empower Italian Americans to achieve their goals in the film and television industries.
Why is This Important?
As famously noted in A Bronx Tale, “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent.” Whether you’re a director, writer, producer, or actor, together, we can work to ensure all Italian Americans have equal opportunities to share their talents and achieve their dreams.
What The Group Will Provide:
Although we are a brand new organization that launched in January 2019, our goal is to provide…
- A go-to community when looking to assemble teams for projects on any scale
- Internship/job opportunities
- Networking opportunities
- Mentoring
- Speaker series
- Workshops
- Fundraising initiatives for creative works and scholarships
On various social media platforms, NOIAFT spotlights work created by, and for, Italian Americans and those of Italian descent.
Some events we have covered include the New York Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, VMA’s, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Rome Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, IFC’s Split Screens TV Festival, BAMcinemaFest, and numerous film premieres, including Rocketman.
Meet Our Team
Taylor Taglianetti, Founder
Taylor Taglianetti is the Founder and President of the National Organization of Italian Americans in Film & Television (NOIAFT), which connects and empowers Italian Americans to achieve their artistic goals.
Inspired by scholarships from Italian heritage foundations like the Columbus Citizens Foundation and recognizing the need for a network to support those lacking opportunities in the industry, Taylor founded NOIAFT in January 2019, which now boasts over 600 members worldwide.
Taylor has cultivated strong relationships with producers, publicists, and various organizations, has helped raise funds for various causes, in addition to overseeing the NOIAFT internship program.
Under her leadership, NOIAFT established a strategic partnership with Italy’s iconic Minerva Pictures to promote their streaming platform, MOVIEITALY+, the premier streaming platform for Italian cinema.
Taylor has also partnered with major studios to host screenings promoting various films. Additionally, Taylor has moderated several high-profile panels, including the National Italian American Foundation’s Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum.
She has also conducted press coverage for major events, including the New York Film Festival, Tribeca Festival, VMAs, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductions. On the red carpet, she has interviewed dozens of celebrities, including Ray Romano, Dion DiMucci, Tony LoBianco, Joe Pantoliano, Louis Gossett Jr., Christoph Waltz, and Alexander Skarsgård.
In addition to her work with NOIAFT, Taylor is also a producer and director. Taylor recently directed and produced her first feature documentary “What’s Next?” which world premiered in April 2024 at Cleveland International Film Festival and was nominated for the Documentary Achievement Award at Miami Film Festival.
The inspiring documentary is about 102-year-old neurologist, Dr. Howard Tucker, who holds the Guinness World Record as the “Oldest Practicing Doctor.” It has been featured by Good Morning America, The Today Show, The New York Times, CNBC, People Magazine, Business Insider and hundreds of other outlets throughout the world. The social media account she co-created to promote Dr. Tucker and the film has generated over 120k followers and 70 million views across TikTok and Instagram, launching Dr. Tucker as an internet sensation.
Taylor is particularly passionate about supporting work by Italian American women. Under her production company, Half House Productions, Taylor also produced the short documentary Heirloom, starring Isabella Rossellini, which premiered at the Los Angeles-Italia Film Festival in March 2022. The film, directed by Emmy-nominated Michela Maria, is about a mother and daughter who set out to discover why Italian Americans continue to have a deep connection to gardening. The film received a grant from the Russo Brothers and was an Official Selection in numerous film festivals worldwide. Taylor continues to collaborate with Michela Maria on her next project, The Eel, an upcoming narrative feature about Italian superstitions, for which Taylor is currently seeking investors.
Taylor also served as an executive producer on the short narrative Faccia Brutta (2024), which world premiered at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. The film tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who grapples with whether to conform to the harsh beauty standards imposed by the hypercritical matriarchs in her Italian American family.
Taylor’s career in filmmaking began at the age of 15 when she directed her debut short documentary Generation Hollow. The film, which won the Juror’s Choice for Outstanding Filmmaking at the 2014 Women of African Descent Film Festival, eerily foreshadows the current crisis of how AI is challenging humans in the arts.
In 2018, she helped cast Shiva Baby (SXSW Film Festival) starring Rachel Sennott.
Taylor is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
To learn more about her organization, please visit: https://noiaft.org/
To learn more about her documentary, What’s Next?, please visit https://www.whatsnextmovie.com/
Contact Taylor at taylor@noiaft.org.
Giò Crisafulli, Chief Entertainment Critic
Giò Crisafulli is the Chief Entertainment Critic for NOIAFT and writer/director of Children of God which he is producing with Melissa Batista at Zio Ciccio Cinema, in which an actor who’s the son of a priest and nun is on the verge of stardom while having an affair with a painter from Italy. A sensational and intuitive look into the romance of two people, it will show how any relationship can be a fleeting microcosm of one’s life.
Kyla Pearson, Development Associate and Program Support Specialist
Kyla Pearson is an Italian-Canadian creative entrepreneur & writer who offers graphic design & digital marketing services tailored to the country music, film & TV industries. She also is the acting development associate and program support specialist at NOIAFT.
To learn more about Kyla, please visit: https://www.kylapearson.ca
Alan Christopher, Director of Member Affairs
Austin Tucker, Director of Business Development
Austin Tucker currently works in Business Development & Operations at ViacomCBS. Additionally, he is the lead singer and keyboardist for the Brooklyn-based rock band, Sweet Sienna, currently signed to Cleopatra Records.
As a musician, Austin has supported, performed, and recorded with numerous national acts such as George Lynch, Sebastian Bach, Warrant, Jack Russell and others. He is scheduled to support Ace Frehley on his upcoming New Haven performance.
A graduate of NYU Stern School of Business, Austin is the Executive Producer of “Heirloom” (2022) starring Isabella Rossellini and volunteers his time as Director of Business Development at the National Organization of Italian Americans in Film & Television (NOIAFT). He has also worked on many short film projects and previously worked at Universal Music Group, NBCUniversal, Warner Music Group and AEG Presents.