EVELINA MANNA

Evelina Manna, model, actress and film producer, was born in Rome to parents from Puglia.

From a very young age she was attracted to artistic expression through dance and acting, and very soon was noticed by major international fashion photographers while being represented by her long standing and important agency, Bravemodels in Milan.

The first debut was for Harper’s Bazaar Italia, with the “special” issue about the Haute Couture Valentino collection, photographed by Gianmarco Chieregato. While in Paris, she posed for Vogue France with the great Guy Bourdin.

After completing her studies, she obtained a primary school teacher’s diploma and started her university career focusing on philosophical studies. Evelina then moved first to Paris and then to New York, where she worked with other world-famous photographers such as Patrick Demarchelier, Francesco Scavullo, Ellen Von Unwerth, Peter Lindbergh, Tony Kelly e Andre Rau and the most important magazines in the sector: Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue Italy, Cosmopolitan, Officiel, Allure, Maxime, GQ Italia, Panorama, First, Playboy America, Style, GQ British etc.

The passion for art and cinema born as a child continues over the years. In the United States she attended acting courses with Larry Moss (LA) and studied Martha Graham’s dance technique. But it’s the meeting  with Susan Strasberg in London, led her to an internship at the Actor’s Studio. With Susan Strasberg she prepared her theatrical debut: “Annie and Me”, based on the film by Woody Allen of the same name. Back in Italy, Evelina performed in two more plays for the OFF theatre: “La Telefonata” by Dorothy Parker and “Ubutango” by Alfredo Giuliani directed by Luca Archibugi.

Her theater experience was soon followed by her performance in TV movie: first “Padre Pio” and then the miniseries “The War is over”, broadcast on Rai 1.

Subsequently she debuted on the big screen with “Casomai” by Alessandro D’Alatri and “Una Bellissima Bambina” by Mimmo Calopresti, presented at the 61st Venice Film Festival.

Her cinematographic experience offered her the opportunity to work with the Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, who chose her for the role of Princess Simin in the colossal “Alexander”, with Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins.

At the same time she worked both in cinema and fashion for major glamourous magazines.

In 2010 she returned to television: she was the protagonist, with Enrico Lo Verso, of the television remake of “La Donna Velata” broadcast on Mediaset. In the same year she was the protagonist of “Eve and the Munchies”, a famous Mediaset television programme, a sitcom with a group of irreverent puppets.

In 2011/12 Evelina decided to embark on a new professional challenge: the creation of Moodyproduction, an independent production company.

With Moodyproduction she began by creating a trilogy of shorts and docufilms dedicated to social issues:

-“Breaking the Silence”, a campaign against Violence against Women for the European Community, of which she is an actress and producer.

-“A Day & a Minute”, a short movie on the theme of Immigration, presented at the Taormina Film Festival.

-“Let’s Fall in Love”, directed by Pappi Corsicato, a social work against homophobia, which closes the trilogy.

This latter work inaugurated the 2013 Palermo Pride and was presented at the Venice Film Festival, in a special event.

In 2014, Moodyproduction co-produced its first feature film, Vinodentro (2014-2015), a noir comedy about the world of wine directed by Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani, with Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Lambert Wilson presented at the Venice Film Festival – Authors’ Days.

At the same time, due to her experience in the world of fashion and image, she collaborated with magazines and some prestigious national and international editorial groups.

In 2021-2022 she was the testimonial for the nationwide advertising campaign D’Avossa Gioielli – High jewelry, with large billboards in Rome and Milan.

The latest project in preparation is the TV film dedicated to the figure of the partisan Teresa Mattei and the girls of the Constituent Assembly, entitled “Chicchi e le ragazze della Mimosa”.

She further was the protagonist of the front cover of Wall Street Italia in 2023, while producing a short film on Clown Therapy that will develop into a TV series, “Noi e Nina”  which sees her for the first time behind the camera as co-director.