HELLO!

My name is Prestia Roberto.

I am an independent filmmaker. People say I make bizarre, weird films, but I don't understand what they are talking about.

I enjoy atmospheres at an edge between dream and reality and characters in search for existential answers, navigating a thin line between drama and absurd comedy.

I am eternally inspired by the works of Cassavetes, Lynch, Bela Tarr and by the writings of Dostoevsky and Carl Jung (ask me about my dreams and we will end up talking for hours about psychoanalysis and so on).

I was born in the hot and chaotic city of Palermo (and the Sicilian blood is undeniably strong in me), but I am based in London, the city where I spent half of my life and directed most of my works.

My early short films - particularly 'After the Shipwreck' and 'The Cosmos Dreamt Her' allowed me to start surrounding myself with a terrific team of creative collaborators.

My meeting with the amazing production designer Lili Lea Abraham and photographer Oleg Micheyev gave birth to our first feature film, 'Shapes'.
The project was funded by equity investors and crowdfunders and led us to build a DIY film studio in my living room in Brixton - God bless my landlord.

After featuring at the 2023 Sottodiciotto Film Festival in Turin, it went on screening at venues such as Somerset House and the Garden Cinema in London, as well as other cities like Liverpool, Berlin, Palermo, Genova and Saigon.

In a quest for DIY filmmaking and creative freedom, in 2024 I started working with a collective of performers.
Through the use of acting improvisation workshops, experimental shoots and one-to-one sessions (at an edge between film and psychoanalytical sessions), we are developing a new series of work - both long and short format. This method is allowing both myself and the actors to explore topics and themes, as well as sides of our personalities, which are often bound to be repressed in everyday life.

I love listening to people and talking to strangers so, whoever you are, please, feel free to drop me an email!