Biography

Before telling stories through film, native Chicagoan Lucia Mauro was a longtime theater/dance critic and arts journalist for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Magazine, New York's In Theatre Magazine, Dance Magazine and more prestigious publications across the country. She was an on-air radio personality (WGN, Chicago Public Radio) who regularly commented on theater, dance and classical music. Her passion for photography earned her two published books of her work and being named the Chicago photographic representative of the Milan-Chicago Sister Cities program during its 50th anniversary year. Lucia is also the author of a series of books on the performing arts for McGraw-Hill.

She graduated summa cum laude, with honors, from Loyola University Chicago and served as a professor of dance history at its Chicago and Rome campuses. She speaks fluent Italian and has visited every region and island of that country over the past 30-plus years.

Lucia is in post-production for her documentary, The Loneliest Road, which honors the multi-ethnic communities that shaped the American West. Inspired by Silvio Manno's book, Charcoal and Blood, it chronicles the little-known 1879 Fish Creek Massacre that left five Italian-immigrant charcoal burners shot dead by a sheriff's posse while striking for better wages on the burgeoning Nevada mining frontier. In 2023, she premiered two films: the documentary, Ovarian Cancer & Early Detection: The Story of a Northwoods Community Making a Difference, about the work of Hayward, Wisconsin-based Ovarian Cancer Symptom Awareness and its collaboration with Penn Vet Working Dog Center, which is researching an early scent detection-based test utilizing the canine sense of smell; and the short film, Inverno (Winter), which follows a day in the life of a man who resides in the Italian town of Fiumefreddo Bruzio, Calabria, where he sets upon his daily routine close to the locals, his environment and the natural path of his existence. Her 2020 documentary, I Have a Name -- in collaboration with The Chicago HELP Initiative -- puts a respectful face on homelessness through the organizations that nourish the whole person. It was named Best Documentary at the 2020 Vatican Film Festival in Rome and received the Silver Award at Atlanta's 2020 Spotlight Documentary Film Festival. Her short film, Voci del diario (Entries), explores the life cycle through one man -- and his journal entries -- at different stages: childhood, young adulthood, middle age and senior years. It was a Best Drama Finalist at Istanbul's 2020 Fotofilm International Short Film Festival. Her 2017 documentary, Frances Xavier Cabrini: The People's Saint, honors the Patron Saint of Immigrants' Centenary and shows those living humanitarian missions today. It was an Official Selection of the Catholic Film Festival in Seoul, South Korea. Lucia is the writer-director of the 2016 feature, One Year Later, the story of an American woman who takes a cathartic trip to the Italian Alps one year after completing cancer treatment. It screened at Montreal's 2016 Views of the World Film & Music Festival, where it was nominated for Best Original Score. One Year Later is also shown throughout the medical community for cancer support groups. Her 2014 short film, In My Brother's Shoes, starring Danny McCarthy (Boardwalk Empire, Elvis & Nixon) as a man who honors his fallen U.S. Marine Corps brother by taking a pilgrimage to Rome, Italy in his sibling's combat boots, was awarded Best Short Film at the 2015 Vatican Film Festival in Rome. It also was featured in the 2015 International Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner. All of her films explore the idea of healing, resilience and human connection.

She is married to film producer Joe Orlandino, and they reside in Chicago and Southern Italy. They are the founders of the non-profit, In My Brother's Shoes, Inc., which educates and inspires through film production and screenings.
- IMDb mini biography by: Lucia Mauro