Major: Performance Arts
Bio: Julie Casamonti is a French and Italian international student based in New York City, studying performance arts at Fordham University Lincoln Center. Her stage credits include Firefighter/Waitress/Rhinoceros in Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco, as well as company member in the devised production What Moves Me, directed by Narushi. Her original play A Call to India was produced in Fall 2025 at the Whitebox Studio, and her upcoming work Ice Cream and Hard Pills to Swallow will be performed in February 2027 at Kehoe Theatre. Julie has written, directed, and produced over four short films. She wrote and directed Sogna in Florence, Italy, in Summer 2025, and executive directed and produced Silence Helvétique, a fashion short film shot in the Alps in Spring 2026. Her work has received recognition including Best Actress for her short film TOMMASA, the Invisions Award at the ARFF Berlin Film Festival, and Best Experimental Film at the Indie Los Angeles Shorts Film Festival. She is currently the executive producer of The Lake, which is set to begin shooting in late June 2026. She is also on the festival circuit with Sogna, made possible through her script winning the Summer Research Grant from Fordham University.
Title of Research: Sogna, a short film for children who see colors under grey skies.
Mentor: Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock
Abstract: Sogna is an Italian 15-minute short film written to explore, through art, the effects of political trauma and displacement on children’s subconscious minds and their dreams. A period piece based on primary-source interviews and film research, the project also draws on studies of dreams and childhood psychology, as well as work with the Italian language through translation.