Director Biography – Gaia Alari (DANA GAVANSKI – I TALK TO THE WIND)

Gaia Alari is a visual artist based in Milan, Italy.

Since 2011, in parallel with her academic studies in Medicine, she pursued drawing and illustration as a self taught.
Her early works have been published on LaMono Magazine, Cruzine, INeedAGuide, HiFructose.
In 2015, she abandoned her illustrative works to pursue artistic projects, collaborating traditionally with art galleries all over Europe (in particular Galleri Benoni, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Galerie Anouk Le Bourdiec, Paris, France) and, inspired by the works of artists as William Kentridge, Nathalie Djurberg and Lauren Kelley, as well as contemporary cinema and filmmakers, since 2017 she has been dedicating to creating and directing experimental music videos and short films with the technique of clay animation and traditional hand drawn frame per frame animation, as a one woman crew.
She collaborates with international music bands and music labels: Ada Lea / SaddleCreek +Nextdoor Records (USA, Canada), Dana Gavanski / Full Time Hobby – Flemish Eye Records – Ba Da Bing Records (UK, Canada, USA) , Low Cut Connie / Contender Records (USA), Florda (Canada), Dot Comet (USA), Crom Lus (UK).
She also works with Paris based skate crew and brand Quotamine directing commercials in clay animation (the crew’s debut film “Didier” premiered at Converse HQ in Paris) and designing boards and products featuring her artworks.
In 2018 her debut short film “Happy” was officially selected for screening at several festivals: MicroActs London, 4th Athens Animation Marathon, Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin, Lisbon Film Rendezvous, Mirror Mountain Film Festival.
Her second short form clay animation “Terminus” premiered at AVIFF Cannes (France) and was awarded the special “Prix AVIFF Incognito” in May, 2019. It was exhibited for Galerie Incognito at the Monnaie de Paris. Also screened at Austin Arthouse Film Festival.
Her music video for Dana Gavanski was officially selected for screening at prestigious Sound Unseen music and film festival and received many positive critiques from the press.
She is interested in exploring, throughout her narrative and experimental short animations, the relationship between the individual, more often a girl/woman, and society in its various aspects, with a special focus on contemporary loneliness in everyday life.