Vincenzo Aiello | Filmmaker

About me

I am an Italian-Swiss director and screenwriter based in Geneva.

I make films about human beings under pressure.

Through genre cinema, whether horror, thriller, fantasy, science fiction or drama, I explore identity, fear, loneliness, tenderness and the invisible tensions that shape our lives. I am drawn to ordinary characters placed in extraordinary situations, moments where survival strips away social masks and reveals something fragile, intimate and deeply human.

Before cinema, I lived through very different worlds.

I spent years sourcing rare spices and ingredients for some of Geneva’s finest restaurants, discovering cultures through food, stories and human encounters. I became Swiss boxing champion in 2013, an experience that profoundly shaped my understanding of discipline, violence, vulnerability and self-control. I worked as a social educator with at-risk teenagers at the Geneva Red Cross, witnessing fragile realities that continue to influence the emotional core of my work.

I also travelled for long periods across South America, Central America and Asia with little more than a backpack and no fixed destination. Those journeys taught me to observe before speaking, to embrace uncertainty, and to pay attention to the hidden contradictions within people.

I began directing in 2019 with Puzzle, a horror short film selected in 15 international festivals. My next short film, Souvenirs d’Enfance, received the Silver Méliès for Best European Fantastic Film. In 2024, Dernier Round was broadcast on Swiss national television (RTS) and received six international awards. In 2026, I released 2XL, continuing my exploration of identity, transformation and emotional tension through speculative fiction.

I direct instinctively.

For me, cinema is not an intellectual exercise. It is a way of exploring what we hide, what we fear, what we love, and the fragile beauty that can still exist between people, even in the darkest moments.

I create because some emotions can only exist through cinema.