Meet Chiara Campelli | Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chiara Campelli and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chiara, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
Thanks to my parents, I grew up obsessively watching movies. Even though they have never worked in the industry, they have always been passionate about films and raised me and my brother by making us watch the great classics. I was immediately fascinated by them, but I soon realized that most successful films not only had male protagonists but were also written and directed by men. This triggered something inside me and pushed me to write the stories that I wanted to see and that had not yet been done– the ones that revolved around women. When during middle school, I realized that I also liked girls, I wanted even more to empower women, in particular queer women, who have always been forced to hide in fear.

This choice of wanting to write stories about queer women was not easy for me since I was born in Rome, Italy to extremely Catholic parents. For a long time, I tried to repress who I was and to follow the voices around me “It’s just a phase, you’ll see, it will pass”. But it wasn’t a phase, it was who I was and am.

The opportunity to study screenwriting first in London and then in Los Angeles gave me the necessary strength to accept myself and to discover how many people had experienced what I had experienced.

So, my mission is to show that queer women can have central roles in the film industry because their stories can be as compelling and captivating as those of men. I hope that thanks to my characters people who found or find themselves in a situation similar to mine can understand that they are not alone, and they don’t have to be afraid of who they are. They must be free. Free from the society around them and the religion that oppresses them and constantly tells them they are wrong.

The big screen is an incredibly powerful medium, and I am certain that through it, things can change for the better.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Certainly, getting to where I am today was anything but easy. I believe that being a woman in this world is already difficult, but when you are a queer woman who wants to be financially independent and embark on an artistic career, then things become even more complicated. Nothing has been easy for me since I was born. Accepting myself for who I was, and trying not to be afraid of the Catholic religion I came from is just part of all the challenges I had to face and overcome.

In fact, my parents have always expected me to inherit my father’s architecture studio since I was born. For this reason, I tried to suppress what I wanted to do –write– to follow their desire and I enrolled at university to study architecture. After a year and the help of my friends, I understood that I could not continue living my life for someone else, and with great difficulty, I freed myself from their chains. It was a series of arguments, getting angry, and even stopping seeing each other (I didn’t see my father for five years after I told him I wanted to be a screenwriter) before everyone accepted that writing for cinema was what I wanted to do. I think my family really started to believe in me when I was accepted first to the London Film School and then to the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles.

My journey as a screenwriter, which I would say has just begun, has many experiences and wounds behind it. There is certainly all of this in my stories—queer women, self-acceptance, women’s empowerment, family drama, a great resentment for the Catholic Church. But not only! Lots of laughs too, I promise. And I can’t wait to share all this and more with the world out there.

All these experiences have allowed me to be the young woman I am now. I have certainly learned one thing – in life you need to have determination, be free, not be afraid of the world, and never give up but above all, believe in yourself. In fact, no one will believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself first. This is a lesson I will never forget.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely take them to the Hollywood Reservoir. It’s a magical place, where you can leave the chaotic city of Los Angeles behind and be immersed in nature. It’s also very easy to meet deer walking around the lake that frames the entire reservoir, which is a super cool bonus! Plus, when you enter the reservoir there’s a bridge overlooking the Hollywood sign—great for taking some unforgettable photographs. This is actually my “private” spot to go walking with my friends and talk for hours and hours about scripts!

To eat I would certainly say a Korean BBQ, anyone who knows me knows that I can’t do without it! I think I’ve eaten in almost all the restaurants in Korea Town, but my favorites are certainly Park’s BBQ and Hae Jang Chon.

And, as every good Italian should have, I’ve got my favorite Italian spots in town! To eat a good pizza, you can’t go wrong with Antica Pizzeria Michele or Pizzeria Sei and for a good pasta for sure you need to visit Dal Milanese. Delicious!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this article to everyone who is out there hiding and living in fear of being who they are. Thanks to time, the people I met during my life, and my mother, I was able to see things differently. I wasn’t the problem, the world around me was. I hope one day no one will need to hide because no one should feel wrong for who they love.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccampelli/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiara-campelli-6149b9232/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chiara.campelli.315/

Image Credits
Chiara Campelli, Gabriella Nasini