Davide Manuli studied from 1987 to 1990 at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute with acting coach Penny Allen in New York, and in 1991 became an assistant to Al Pacino and Charlie Laughton for CHAL Productions. He also studied with Stella Adler in 1990 and in Sanford Meisner acting classes.
1991 he plays the role of BEPPO for Mike Newell worldwide hit THE ENCHANTED APRIL (3 Academy Award Nominations and 3 Golden Globes).
1993 he plays the leading role in New York, in the first feature of german director Tobias Meinecke THE CONTENDERS, with Milos Forman as executive producer for Columbia University film Master Classes.
1995 he writes the book LA MIA INCAPACITA’ DI STARE AL MONDO with the photos of Fabio Paleari. Published by KAOS COMUNICAZIONE.
1998 he writes and shoots and produces his first feature film GIROTONDO, GIRO ATTORNO AL MONDO after winning the Premio Solinas for Best Original Italian Screenplay in 1995. Simona Caramelli, Luciano Curreli and Sarah Boberg in the leading roles. The film is co-produced by Gianluca Arcopinto.
1999 he wins the prestigious VELA d’ORO at Bellaria Film Festival with the short film “BOMBAY: ARTHUR ROAD PRISON”. Director Mario Monicelli head of Jury.
1999 director Marco Bellocchio chooses personally his first feature GIROTONDO, GIRO ATTORNO AL MONDO for his festival Adriatico Cinema.
2000 he shoots the backstage for Peter Del Monte feature CONTROVENTO starring Valeria Golino and Margherita Buy.
2004 he becomes personal assistant in Rome of american director Abel Ferrara, and he starts to shoot a documentary on Ferrara titled ABEL IN ROME, that will never get finished.
2005 he opens his own production company SHOOTING HOPE PRODUCTIONS srl
2006 he is in Competition at the Turin Film Festival with INAUDITI-INUIT!, a documentary shot in the North Pole about the Inuit community in Nunavut.
2007 he plays the role of “The lawyer” in the feature film NELLE TUE MANI directed by Peter Del Monte with Kasia Smutniak.
2008 he writes and shoots and produces his second feature BEKET that goes in competition in Locarno Film Festival (Filmakers of The Present), where he wins the Independant Critics Award and the Jury Mention at Miami Film Festival in 2009 with Tiziana Finzi as director of the Festival. In the movie stars Roberto Freak Antoni leader of punk group Skiantos, with Luciano Curreli, Jerome Duranteau, Simona Caramelli and Paolo Rossi.
2012 his first film GIROTONDO, GIRO INTORNO AL MONDO is presented with producer Gianluca Arcopinto in the new Director’s Cut version at the Venice Film Festival in collaboration with ‘Giornate degli autori / Venice Days’ section. Arcopinto and Manuli are also presenting in Venice their new book written togheter “Girotondo, la storia vera 1998-2012) for publishing house IL MIO LIBRO, with Kimera Film of Simone Isola.
2013 he writes and shoots and produces his third feature THE LEGEND OF KASPAR HAUSER with cult superstar VINCENT GALLO in two leading roles (The Pusher & The Sheriff), Slivia Calderoni as Kaspar, Elisa Sednaoui, Fabrizio Gifuni and Claudia Gerini. French-electro genius VITALIC is the composer of the original soundtrack. The screenplay has been written with the collaboration of renowed italian writer Giuseppe Genna. The movie did the world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival.
2013 Five years after the world première in Locarno, his second feature BEKET is invited by director Pedro Armocida for a special screening at the Mostra Internazionale del Nuovo Cinema – Pesaro Film Festival.
2014 italian publishing house UZAK – CARATTERI MOBILI publish the book “10 REGISTI FUORI DAGLI SCHERMI” with essays on the cinema of Davide Manuli, Olivier Assayas, Lisandro Alonso, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lav Diaz, Bruno Dumont, Michel Gondry, Ulrich Seidl, Kelly Reichardt and Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2014 he enters in the team of contemporary artists of the Gallery of Guido Costa in Turin, GUIDO COSTA PROJECTS, alongside artists Nan Goldin, Fabio Paleari, Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio, Boris Mikhailov among others.
2015 italian publishing house IL SAGGIATORE publish the comics book of LA LEGGENDA DI KASPAR HAUSER with the drawings of tattoo artist Gianluca Sigurani. The new comics screenplay is written by Davide Manuli, Gianluca Sigurani and Loredana Giulioli. The artistic director of the book is Giuseppe Genna for IL SAGGIATORE.
2016 he writes the screenplay of the feature film LUCANIA that will be produced in collaboration with RAI CINEMA and distributed on SKY CINEMA.
2017 he shoots the music videoclip for the track HANS IS DRIVING by VITALIC included in his album VOYAGER (2017).
He is now at work with a new surreal version of the DON QUIXOTE tale, titled “Don Quixote 3000”.
The original screenplay has been written by Davide Manuli and Giuseppe Genna.
Others:
2019 spanish fashion stylist Ana Locking new collection “Kaspar Hauser” for Autumn-Winter 2019/2020 is completely based on the movie “LA LEGGENDA DI KASPAR HAUSER”
http://www.analocking.com/en/oi1920i.html
2020 new videoclip “Giovanna Hardcore” by italian singer and rapper MYSS KETA is inspired by the movie “LA LEGGENDA DI KASPAR HAUSER”