Chiara D’Anna is an Italian director, actress, movement coach and Commedia dell'Arte specialist.
Born near Turin, she trained in Italy, Poland, and the UK, initially studying geology before moving on to Physical Theatre. Since then, her wide-ranging projects have spanned adaptations of plays and novels, theatre, site-specific immersive work, combined arts and multimedia performances, dance-theatre, opera, and films. Her productions have been praised for their originality, creativity, and outstanding visual power.
Recent directorial credits include co-directing Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme/Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss with Iván Fischer and the short film Brainland. Brainland was nominated for the Horizon Crystal Pine Award at the International Sound & Film Music Festival (ISFMF) 2024 and received the "Best Story" award at Toronto’s Experimental Film and Music Video Festival , as well as the "Special Jury Prize" at the 2024 Messina Film Festival: Opera & Cinema.
Her film career began in 2011 with her debut in Peter Strickland’s award-winning Berberian Sound Studio, followed by her co-lead role in The Duke of Burgundy, praised by The New York Times and The Guardian as a “superb” and "hypnotically compelling" performance. Her most recent film credit is the multi-award-winning Everyone is Going to Die (2024).
Renowned for her work in Commedia dell’Arte and Physical Theatre, Chiara teaches at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and Goldsmiths College in London, and at the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy.
