Meet Andrea Antonio Vico

We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Antonio Vico recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea Antonio , so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

I believe in myself. I believe in what I do and what I’m passionate about. My focus is simply on doing a good job. The purest form of satisfaction comes from giving in all out in what I love. When you’re completely focused on your path—giving a thousand percent with honesty and commitment—you enter a mental zone of calm and clarity. In that space, haters and naysayers lose their power. They simply don’t exist anymore.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a director and screenwriter, and I deeply love my work. It gives me the opportunity to maintain control over my creative journey while choosing the stories I want to tell. That freedom comes with a heavy dose of responsibility: from writing and funding, to shooting, post-production, and distribution—every phase depends on my commitment. It’s a long, demanding process, but it’s where I thrive.
Of course, I can’t control how people will receive my films. What I can do is accept their responses and try to understand which criticisms are valid. Usually, the feedback that truly resonates with me is the one I already saw coming—it confirms my own instincts.
What excites me most is telling powerful, socially engaged stories that give voice to the voiceless. I focus on those who are often marginalized: individuals with mental health conditions, immigrants, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, children—“the last ones,” as I often say. I’ve felt like one of them many times in my life, and that connection fuels my work.
My latest project is Sabbie Mobili – Big Noise, a film about postpartum depression that has received over 40 selections worldwide and 27 awards—most of them recognizing the lead actress, Carlotta Parodi, for her generous and powerful performance. The film was selected at several prestigious festivals, including Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (Academy Award qualifying) and Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Currently, I’m developing two new projects. The first is La Creatura dei Caruggi (international title The Stray Beauty), a feature film set between Genoa and New York. It’s an Italian-American co-production and tells a raw, emotional story of love and addiction. The second is Redención, a documentary entirely shot in New York that focuses on the lives of undocumented immigrants. I can’t reveal too much yet—except that actress Carlotta Parodi will once again play a central role in both.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Courage, knowledge, and being true to yourself.

Courage is something you develop by making uncomfortable choices. It means constantly pushing yourself, testing your fears, and refusing to stay in your comfort zone. Without courage, life feels stagnant—you’re not taking enough risks. This applies to both career and relationships.
Knowledge is fundamental. For me, that means reading extensively, staying alert to the world around me, and doing deep personal work. Psychoterapy has played a crucial role in my development—it helps me know myself better, relate more authentically to others, and approach my work with clarity and depth.

Being true to yourself might be the hardest task of all. We all have moments when we’ve made choices based on someone else’s expectations or judgments, and that leaves behind a residue of anger or regret. The real work is to heal that, to sit with the discomfort, and to reclaim your inner compass. Listen to everyone—but choose with your own mind.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

Without a doubt, my partner Carlotta. She challenges me to go deeper, to never settle for the easy or superficial path. She encourages me to make the hardest choices, to demand more of myself, and to stay committed to excellence. Thanks to her, I’ve learned to push past laziness, to avoid triviality, and to give my absolute best in everything I do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: _andrea_vico
• Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm5350101/

Image Credits

Joey Sharrock (Roosevelt Island Film Festival); Dario Di Mella