Rising Italian Horror Filmmaker Paolo Strippoli Signs with WME (Exclusive)

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Fresh off the fall festival debut of his psychological horror film The Spiral, Italian filmmaker Paolo Strippoli has signed with WME for representation in all areas.

Spiral is about a mother who makes a Faustian bargain to save her daughter’s life. The movie premiered at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, where it received a nine-minute standing ovation and favorable reviews. WME began circling before the premiere based on early buzz.

Spiral then headed to Canada where it screened at TIFF’s Midnight Madness sidebar. The movie hits Italian theaters October although its North American rights are still up for grabs.

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It is also known that he is already developing his next project which has caused studios to line up for a chance to work with him.

Strippoli is as a rising voice in the horror scene thanks to a series of short films then a duo of talked about features. He established an international festival presence through short films selected for Rome Film Fest, the Venice Film Festival and Camerimage. In 2019, he won the Franco Solinas Award for L’Angelo Infelice.

His solo feature debut was Piove (Flowing), which premiered at 2022 Fantastic Fest before screening at the 2022 Sitges Film Festival. He followed it with The Holy Boy, based on his earlier short L’Angelo Infelice. It premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival and went on to win the festival’s Audience Award and Next Wave Best Director at Fantastic Fest.

WME will work with Strippoli to build on his international profile and shape the next chapter of his career as a distinctive and emerging voice in movies.

Strippoli continues to be represented by Marc Manus at Persistent.