Robert Patriarca

Robert Patriarca is the recipient of the Canon USA Independent Project Filmmaker Award and the Beachtek Award for Outstanding Independent Project Filmmaker. In addition to being the founder and owner of Patriarca Film Company LLC, Robert Patriarca is a producer, director, writer, and editor. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Patriarca began his career at the age of thirteen in musical theater as part of the Rainbow Company, later known as Youth Arts in Action, writing and performing in plays at the Prince Music Theater. Remembering as far back as to a kindergartener, Patriarca recalls always having grand illusions of wanting to write for the movies. But it was in January of 2006, standing in the frigid night temperatures on the streets of Kensington while intensively observing Sylvester Stallone direct, act, and rewrite dialogue between each take on the set of Rocky Balboa that would change the whole trajectory of Robert Patriarca's life. The 9th grade dropout created Patriarca Film Company (PFC) at the age of 18 and personally financed his first feature film. Since then, Patriarca earned his GED at Temple University and graduated college with high Honors, receiving a degree in Digital Video Production. Patriarca also holds a Certification in Digital Video Production from Community College of Philadelphia. Patriarca set out in 2017 to make the first film for the newly established Patriarca Film Company LLC. In 2018, Patriarca won the Videographer Awards for Distinction and was a semi-finalist at the 2019 CUFF Film Festival for his film, Cannoli Stories. Patriarca credits Sylvester Stallone as the filmmaker who has had the most influential impact on his life, education, career choice, and career aspirations. "I would not have gone to college to learn the craft of filmmaking if I were not on set of Rocky Balboa watching Stallone do the scene where he changes a light bulb. I was absolutely captivated and inspired watching Stallone direct. It was truly an epiphany. From that precise moment, I had a clear vision of what I needed to do to make my dreams into reality."