Ben Donateo is a filmmaker from Switzerland. In 2023 he took part in the Locarno Residency with The Slaughter, his first feature project. Meanwhile he co-directed the film Muzungu, a documentary about cultural and climatic contrasts in the area of the Kilimanjaro, which world premiered at the 55th Visions du Réel 2024.
His latest short film Burnt. Boring Portrait of an Angry, Young, Black Man was screened at Dresden Filmfest 2023 , 59th Solothurner Filmtage and other festivals, while previously Lorem Ipsum world premiered at the 75th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (August 2022).
In 2020 Burnt. Land of Fire was also selected for the official selection - Pardi di domani at Locarno Film Festival, and at IDFA 2020, 42nd Durban International Film Festival, 56th Solothurner Filmtage, and many others.
In late 2021, he took part in the 2nd Film Accelerator, “Werner Herzog: filming a strange planet”.
In March 2022, he participated in “L'immagine e la parola” tutored by Michelangelo Frammartino.
After being part of the 2021 IDFA Academy and the 2020 Zurich Film Festival Academy, he was selected for the Sundance Institute Collab. on film marketing strategies scheduled for Spring 2022.
He is currently working on the film for television “Care Givers”, produced by Rough Cut in collaboration with RSI Doc Cinema, which will be released in 2024.
He was born in Switzerland in 1988. After studying filmmaking in Los Angeles, he attended the University of Rome (Sapienza) where he founded D.R.C. Creativity Productions, a cultural association for film enthusiasts.
Now he works on social and environmental projects for his association in Lugano and Rome.
