In Conversation with Fabrizio Mancinelli
Born and raised in L’Aquila, Fabrizio Mancinelli is a composer, songwriter, and conductor whose international career spans film, television, animation, and concert music. Trained at the “Alfredo Casella” Conservatory in L’Aquila and later at the University of Southern California, he studied with Academy Award winner Luis Bacalov and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Gian Carlo Menotti.
His work has been produced by major studios and platforms including Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Company, Universal Pictures, Netflix, and Rai Cinema, earning him recognition and nominations from the Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards, the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and the World Soundtrack Awards. In 2025, he was also named International Composer of the Year at the Apulia Soundtrack Awards.
Among his most recent works are Here After, a Paramount psychological thriller starring Connie Britton; Anuja, the Academy Award–nominated short film produced by Mindy Kaling, Priyanka Chopra, Guneet Monga, and Netflix; Food 2050, a documentary funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and narrated by Viola Davis; and Jumpman, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. In animation, he composed the scores for Mushka, directed by Disney Legend Andreas Deja in collaboration with Academy Award winner Richard M. Sherman, and Out of the Nest, which premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
He has also conducted the orchestral recordings for acclaimed scores by Kris Bowers, including Green Book (winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture), The Color Purple, and Haunted Mansion. While based in Los Angeles, Mancinelli maintains a strong connection to Italy. Most recently, he composed the score for Rosso Volante, a Rai 1 film dedicated to Italian sports legend Eugenio Monti, and conducted one of his original compositions at the opening ceremony of L’Aquila Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2026, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
Mancinelli is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the Recording Academy.
IMH: You grew up within the medieval walls of L’Aquila, a city with a strong musical and cultural tradition — and this year Italy’s Capital of Culture — and today you live and work in Los Angeles. How did that journey happen?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: In a way, this journey began very early. As a child, I dreamed of America, and I dreamed of working with Walt Disney long before I truly understood what that meant. I learned to love music through Disney films, but also through the cultural traditions of my hometown. I remember puppet shows in the squares of L’Aquila before the start of the school year, and a marionette production of Turandot by Ferruccio Busoni staged in one of the city’s courtyards, where one of my aunts took me.
As a child, I even collected Disneyland postcards that came inside Nonna Papera cookies, dreaming of that world without yet knowing why.
A defining moment came in 1991, when I went to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto with my uncles and aunts and saw Le Nozze di Figaro. When I came back from that experience, I asked my parents if I could study music. Thanks in part to the encouragement of some family members, I started with a children’s choir and then moved on to piano.
L’Aquila was my first school of beauty and culture. This year, returning there to conduct one of my own compositions at the opening ceremony of L’Aquila Capitale della Cultura was deeply emotional — like closing a circle that had begun right there.
At the same time, I pursued academic studies in law, graduating with a thesis on copyright law and even passing the bar exam, but music was always my true calling. Thanks to Luis Bacalov and a Fulbright scholarship, I eventually arrived at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. For me, it meant fulfilling a lifelong dream: living and working in the city where Walt Disney had created his world. Once I arrived here, I found not only professional opportunities, but also an artistic and human family.
IMH: When you begin working on a new film, where do you start: with the script, a conversation with the director, or with already edited footage? Is there a moment when you feel the music has found its right path?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: Every project has a different starting point. Sometimes it begins with the script. For example, on The Land of Dreams — a musical feature directed by Nicola Abbatangelo — I wrote songs that had to be performed on set, so the music was created even before filming began, in close dialogue with the director and the screenplay.
In other cases, I’m asked to write music during pre-production, working from storyboards, sketches, or visual development, as often happens in animation. I’m thinking, for example, of Out of the Nest — an animated feature that premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2024 — or of some projects currently in development. Then there are the opposite situations, where you work directly to picture, sometimes under very tight deadlines.
The moment when I feel I’ve found the right voice for a film usually comes after a couple of weeks. It’s a bit like breaking in a car engine: at first, you have to let it run and find its rhythm. I write enough material to be able to go back and listen to those first ideas with more clarity. Only then do I begin to truly understand what the musical language of the project should be.
IMH: You have conducted the orchestral recordings for several scores by Kris Bowers — one of the most in-demand American composers of his generation, known for his work on series such as Bridgerton and When They See Us — for acclaimed and high-profile productions such as Green Book, King Richard, and The Color Purple. How did this collaboration begin, and how has working on projects of this scale influenced your approach to conducting and your relationship with the composer?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: Kris Bowers and I became friends in 2015, when we both received a fellowship for the Sundance Film Music Lab at Skywalker Ranch. We spent two intense weeks together focused on mentorship, work, and creative exchange, and a deep friendship grew from that experience.
When we collaborate, there’s a double pleasure: spending time with a friend and making music together. A lot of people play soccer together; we make film scores. Kris is someone I deeply admire as a colleague: he is a wonderful person who enriches me both professionally and personally.
From a professional standpoint, I also come from a conducting background. I studied orchestral conducting in addition to composition, and that allows me to deeply understand both the composer’s perspective and that of the musicians in the orchestra. When I conduct Kris’s music, my goal is to serve his vision, respect his writing, and bring out the best in it. Working on productions of this scale teaches you a great deal, but above all it has confirmed for me how important generosity and mutual support among colleagues are in this profession.
IMH: Among your most recent Italian projects is Rosso Volante, a film dedicated to Olympic bobsledder Eugenio Monti, remembered not only for his Olympic victories but also for an extraordinary act of sportsmanship that earned him the first Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy in 1965. How did you translate such an exemplary figure into music, and how did the theme of fair play shape your creative choices?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: Eugenio Monti was a very complex figure, and the film portrays that beautifully. Together with Giorgio Pasotti, who wrote and starred in the film, and director Alessandro Angelini, we sought a dual perspective: the sports hero and the man.
To capture his more intimate and human side, I chose a more restrained, almost Mitteleuropean musical language, with a solo violin representing his inner world and accompanying some of the film’s most introspective moments.
For Monti the athlete, on the other hand, I created a more heroic and dynamic theme. Then there is a third musical element tied to fair play and his nobility of spirit: a harmonic progression that returns throughout the film and at times intertwines with the other two themes.
I wanted these three aspects of his personality to eventually coexist musically, because Eugenio Monti was all of those things at once.
IMH: You are a voting member of the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys, and you have worked for years between Italy and the United States. From your perspective, how is the dialogue between the two creative industries evolving?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: I see it as a very active and vibrant dialogue. More and more American productions are choosing Italy as a filming location, and international co-productions are increasing as well. Italy continues to hold tremendous appeal — not only cinematically, but also culturally and even from a tourism perspective — and that is reflected in the industry’s choices.
I also think of the important work being done by Italian Film Commissions to promote their territories and facilitate foreign productions.
At the same time, both industries are going through a period of transformation: studio mergers, evolving distribution models, cost-cutting measures, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence. These changes create uncertainty, but also new opportunities.
As for the Italian creative community in Los Angeles, we all know each other to some extent, and whenever possible, we try to support one another and collaborate.
IMH: What are you working on now, and is there a particular project you’re especially excited about?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: I’m currently working on several very different projects, and that’s one of the things I love most about my job.
These days, I’m finishing a piece for cello and piano written for two longtime interpreters of Ennio Morricone’s music: pianist Gilda Buttà and cellist Luca Pincini. It’s wonderful to return to writing music untethered from images.
I have also just completed an animated project, Epic Yarn, directed by Andrew Gordon, formerly an animation director at Pixar, which will premiere at the Animayo International Animation Festival in the Canary Islands.
Among my recent works is also Food 2050, a documentary produced by the Rockefeller Foundation, with narration and executive production by Academy Award winner Viola Davis, as well as other film projects I unfortunately can’t talk about just yet.
The most beautiful part of this work is exactly that: constantly moving across different worlds, always guided by music.
Italy Meets Hollywood thanks Fabrizio Mancinelli for sharing his journey, his passion for music, and his vision of the art of storytelling through sound.
© Italy Meets Hollywood. All rights reserved.
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In Conversation with Stefano Gallini-DuranteRelated Posts
Born and raised in L’Aquila, Fabrizio Mancinelli is a composer, songwriter, and conductor whose international career spans film, television, animation, and concert music. Trained at the “Alfredo Casella” Conservatory in L’Aquila and later at the University of Southern California, he studied with Academy Award winner Luis Bacalov and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Gian Carlo Menotti.
His work has been produced by major studios and platforms including Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Company, Universal Pictures, Netflix, and Rai Cinema, earning him recognition and nominations from the Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards, the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and the World Soundtrack Awards. In 2025, he was also named International Composer of the Year at the Apulia Soundtrack Awards.
Among his most recent works are Here After, a Paramount psychological thriller starring Connie Britton; Anuja, the Academy Award–nominated short film produced by Mindy Kaling, Priyanka Chopra, Guneet Monga, and Netflix; Food 2050, a documentary funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and narrated by Viola Davis; and Jumpman, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. In animation, he composed the scores for Mushka, directed by Disney Legend Andreas Deja in collaboration with Academy Award winner Richard M. Sherman, and Out of the Nest, which premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
He has also conducted the orchestral recordings for acclaimed scores by Kris Bowers, including Green Book (winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture), The Color Purple, and Haunted Mansion. While based in Los Angeles, Mancinelli maintains a strong connection to Italy. Most recently, he composed the score for Rosso Volante, a Rai 1 film dedicated to Italian sports legend Eugenio Monti, and conducted one of his original compositions at the opening ceremony of L’Aquila Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2026, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
Mancinelli is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the Recording Academy.
IMH: You grew up within the medieval walls of L’Aquila, a city with a strong musical and cultural tradition — and this year Italy’s Capital of Culture — and today you live and work in Los Angeles. How did that journey happen?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: In a way, this journey began very early. As a child, I dreamed of America, and I dreamed of working with Walt Disney long before I truly understood what that meant. I learned to love music through Disney films, but also through the cultural traditions of my hometown. I remember puppet shows in the squares of L’Aquila before the start of the school year, and a marionette production of Turandot by Ferruccio Busoni staged in one of the city’s courtyards, where one of my aunts took me.
As a child, I even collected Disneyland postcards that came inside Nonna Papera cookies, dreaming of that world without yet knowing why.
A defining moment came in 1991, when I went to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto with my uncles and aunts and saw Le Nozze di Figaro. When I came back from that experience, I asked my parents if I could study music. Thanks in part to the encouragement of some family members, I started with a children’s choir and then moved on to piano.
L’Aquila was my first school of beauty and culture. This year, returning there to conduct one of my own compositions at the opening ceremony of L’Aquila Capitale della Cultura was deeply emotional — like closing a circle that had begun right there.
At the same time, I pursued academic studies in law, graduating with a thesis on copyright law and even passing the bar exam, but music was always my true calling. Thanks to Luis Bacalov and a Fulbright scholarship, I eventually arrived at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. For me, it meant fulfilling a lifelong dream: living and working in the city where Walt Disney had created his world. Once I arrived here, I found not only professional opportunities, but also an artistic and human family.
IMH: When you begin working on a new film, where do you start: with the script, a conversation with the director, or with already edited footage? Is there a moment when you feel the music has found its right path?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: Every project has a different starting point. Sometimes it begins with the script. For example, on The Land of Dreams — a musical feature directed by Nicola Abbatangelo — I wrote songs that had to be performed on set, so the music was created even before filming began, in close dialogue with the director and the screenplay.
In other cases, I’m asked to write music during pre-production, working from storyboards, sketches, or visual development, as often happens in animation. I’m thinking, for example, of Out of the Nest — an animated feature that premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2024 — or of some projects currently in development. Then there are the opposite situations, where you work directly to picture, sometimes under very tight deadlines.
The moment when I feel I’ve found the right voice for a film usually comes after a couple of weeks. It’s a bit like breaking in a car engine: at first, you have to let it run and find its rhythm. I write enough material to be able to go back and listen to those first ideas with more clarity. Only then do I begin to truly understand what the musical language of the project should be.
IMH: You have conducted the orchestral recordings for several scores by Kris Bowers — one of the most in-demand American composers of his generation, known for his work on series such as Bridgerton and When They See Us — for acclaimed and high-profile productions such as Green Book, King Richard, and The Color Purple. How did this collaboration begin, and how has working on projects of this scale influenced your approach to conducting and your relationship with the composer?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: Kris Bowers and I became friends in 2015, when we both received a fellowship for the Sundance Film Music Lab at Skywalker Ranch. We spent two intense weeks together focused on mentorship, work, and creative exchange, and a deep friendship grew from that experience.
When we collaborate, there’s a double pleasure: spending time with a friend and making music together. A lot of people play soccer together; we make film scores. Kris is someone I deeply admire as a colleague: he is a wonderful person who enriches me both professionally and personally.
From a professional standpoint, I also come from a conducting background. I studied orchestral conducting in addition to composition, and that allows me to deeply understand both the composer’s perspective and that of the musicians in the orchestra. When I conduct Kris’s music, my goal is to serve his vision, respect his writing, and bring out the best in it. Working on productions of this scale teaches you a great deal, but above all it has confirmed for me how important generosity and mutual support among colleagues are in this profession.
IMH: Among your most recent Italian projects is Rosso Volante, a film dedicated to Olympic bobsledder Eugenio Monti, remembered not only for his Olympic victories but also for an extraordinary act of sportsmanship that earned him the first Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy in 1965. How did you translate such an exemplary figure into music, and how did the theme of fair play shape your creative choices?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: Eugenio Monti was a very complex figure, and the film portrays that beautifully. Together with Giorgio Pasotti, who wrote and starred in the film, and director Alessandro Angelini, we sought a dual perspective: the sports hero and the man.
To capture his more intimate and human side, I chose a more restrained, almost Mitteleuropean musical language, with a solo violin representing his inner world and accompanying some of the film’s most introspective moments.
For Monti the athlete, on the other hand, I created a more heroic and dynamic theme. Then there is a third musical element tied to fair play and his nobility of spirit: a harmonic progression that returns throughout the film and at times intertwines with the other two themes.
I wanted these three aspects of his personality to eventually coexist musically, because Eugenio Monti was all of those things at once.
IMH: You are a voting member of the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys, and you have worked for years between Italy and the United States. From your perspective, how is the dialogue between the two creative industries evolving?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: I see it as a very active and vibrant dialogue. More and more American productions are choosing Italy as a filming location, and international co-productions are increasing as well. Italy continues to hold tremendous appeal — not only cinematically, but also culturally and even from a tourism perspective — and that is reflected in the industry’s choices.
I also think of the important work being done by Italian Film Commissions to promote their territories and facilitate foreign productions.
At the same time, both industries are going through a period of transformation: studio mergers, evolving distribution models, cost-cutting measures, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence. These changes create uncertainty, but also new opportunities.
As for the Italian creative community in Los Angeles, we all know each other to some extent, and whenever possible, we try to support one another and collaborate.
IMH: What are you working on now, and is there a particular project you’re especially excited about?
Fabrizio Mancinelli: I’m currently working on several very different projects, and that’s one of the things I love most about my job.
These days, I’m finishing a piece for cello and piano written for two longtime interpreters of Ennio Morricone’s music: pianist Gilda Buttà and cellist Luca Pincini. It’s wonderful to return to writing music untethered from images.
I have also just completed an animated project, Epic Yarn, directed by Andrew Gordon, formerly an animation director at Pixar, which will premiere at the Animayo International Animation Festival in the Canary Islands.
Among my recent works is also Food 2050, a documentary produced by the Rockefeller Foundation, with narration and executive production by Academy Award winner Viola Davis, as well as other film projects I unfortunately can’t talk about just yet.
The most beautiful part of this work is exactly that: constantly moving across different worlds, always guided by music.
Italy Meets Hollywood thanks Fabrizio Mancinelli for sharing his journey, his passion for music, and his vision of the art of storytelling through sound.
© Italy Meets Hollywood. All rights reserved.
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In Conversation with Stefano Gallini-Durante
