Biography
Will Parrinello has been producing and directing documentaries for 35 years. His notable work includes the award-winning feature documentary "Water For Life," which received the Documentary Audience Award at the Mill Valley, Woods Hole, and Chicago Latino Film Festivals, the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at Isla Verde Cuba, Best International Feature Film at FINCA Buenos Aires Environmental Film Festival, and the Greenpeace Award for Best Environmental Documentary at the SiciliAmbiente Film Festival. "Water For Life" examines the intersection of water rights, Indigenous beliefs, and resource extraction through the stories of three Latin American community leaders.
Parrinello also directed "Mustang - Journey of Transformation," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was featured on PBS, Shorts International, and Curiosity Stream. The film won Best Film Mountain Culture at the Taos Film Festival and Swiss Mountain Film Fest, the Audience Award at Graz Mountain Film Fest and Maui Film Fest, and a Special Jury Award at EcoVision in Palermo. Other works include "Emile Norman - By His Own Design" (HBO Audience Award at Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Fest, PBSArts Award); "Dreaming of Tibet" (PBS, Link TV, Netflix, Audience Award at Amnesty International Film Festival, Cine Golden Eagle Award, Chris Award at Columbus International Film Festival); "Little Italy" (PBS, Gold Hugo Award at Chicago International Film Fest, Golden Gate Award at San Francisco International Film Festival, Award of Creative Merit at American International Film Festival); and the Emmy Award-winning series "The New Environmentalists."
Together with his filmmaking partner John Antonelli, Parrinello co-directed and co-produced "Movies Around The World" for the 89th Academy Awards on ABC-TV, a short film viewed by over 80 million people across 252 countries. He co-produced "Kerouac" (Sundance Film Festival, PBS, IFC), "Unfair Game - The Politics of Poaching," "Sea Change," "Sumo Basho," and "Yen For Baseball." He served as Consulting Producer on "Summer '82 - When Zappa Came to Sicily" (Venice Film Festival, Full Frame, Disney+, Netflix). His director of photography credits include the Academy Award-nominated feature documentary "Tell the Truth and Run - George Seldes and the American Press," "Standing on Sacred Ground," and "A Literary Friendship." Parrinello also worked as director of photography and editor on "In The Light of Reverence," "Sumo Basho," and "Yen for Baseball."
His projects have been supported by organizations such as JustFilms/Ford Foundation, Berkeley Film Foundation, California Arts Council, Corporation For Public Broadcasting, Fleishhacker Foundation, Global Greengrants, Latino Public Broadcasting, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Geographic, Nu Lambda Trust, Pacific Pioneer Fund, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Swift Foundation, and Wallace Global Fund.
Will Parrinello is currently a documentary film instructor at San Francisco State University.
