Mark and Me Podcast Episode 454: Mitzi Peirone
Aug 10, 2025
Mitzi Peirone is an award-winning Italian film director and screenwriter, celebrated for her psychological thrillers. She shares how films like 'The Elephant Man' and 'A Clockwork Orange' shaped her artistic vision. The conversation dives into the unique gender challenges in filmmaking and how the pandemic influenced creative timelines. Mitzi also explores the resurgence of horror films as a collective healing process, alongside a reflection on identity, kindness, and emotional struggles in her upcoming film 'St. Clair.'
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Early Films Shaped Her Filmmaking
- Mitzi Peirone credits David Lynch's The Elephant Man as a formative film that 'broke her heart open' and shaped her sense of compassion in storytelling.
- She links her humanities education in Italy to visual storytelling and the emotional core of her films.
Parents, Museums, And A London Spark
- Mitzi describes how her parents exposed her to uncensored films and took her to major museums, seeding her visual language early on.
- A short London stint at 17 widened her world and convinced her to pursue art and theater abroad.
Breakthrough At Tribeca
- Mitzi recounts her breakthrough with the short Braid premiering at Tribeca in 2018, which made her parents proud and legitimized her career.
- She explains screenwriting's solitary, uncertain nature and why she keeps projects private until they're real.
