BOB GIRALDI
Bob Giraldi brings an independent hand to everything he touches. Whether it’s music videos, films, commercials or restaurants, his distinctive influence is immediately felt in all his projects.
His latest short film, “Second Guessing Grandma”, has been awarded at film festivals across the world-- receiving various distinctive awards and wide appraisal. During the 2008 holiday season, it was the #3 most viewed video on all of YouTube.
“Second Guessing Grandma” examines the coming out of a twenty-something gay man to his 83 year old grandmother despite the mounting pressures of his mother and live-in boyfriend. At the 27th Annual Chicago International Film Festival, “Second Guessing Grandma” received the Jury Award for Short Narrative. In addition, it won the Audience Award for Best Short at the Fresno Reel Pride Festival, one of the largest gay and lesbian film festivals in the United States. The short film was also hand-selected to be in the new Google YouTube Screening Room.
Bob Giraldi’s feature film, “Dinner Rush” with Danny Aiello, John Corbett and Sandra Bernhard, appeared on a number of 2001’s Top 10 lists and was selected for the prestigious New Directors/New Films Series at MoMa. This film clearly has had an influence on several present day reality restaurant series. Giraldi’s independent films have also garnered numerous awards and have found their way into collections as diverse as the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Museum of Modern Art. He has been inducted into the Art Director’s Hall of Fame, one of the few film directors to be honored. His short film, “The Routine”, premiered at Sundance and won Best Drama at the 6th Annual Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. Another short, “My Hometown”, is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame’s permanent collection and “Dream Begins”, an integral part of New York’s national Olympic bid, now resides with the MoMa.
Giraldi set the tone for music videos in the early MTV days. His unique visual and musical storytelling ability were first seen in Michael Jackson's "Beat It". The video swept the country and won numerous awards including that year’s coveted American Music Award, the Billboard Music Award and the People’s Choice Award. Working with music luminaries such as Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder and Will Smith, he continued to win, acclaim and define the future of the medium with videos like "Say, Say, Say," "Love is a Battlefield," "Running with the Night," “Don’t Drive Drunk,” "Hello," and “Just The Two of Us”.
In 1995, Giraldi and his executive producer, Patti Greaney, created the original website, StarChefs, featuring celebrity chefs and cookbook authors. StarChefs continues to be the foremost website used by professionals and food afficiandos.
Always hungry for something new, Giraldi, threw his hat into the New York restaurant ring, by opening Jo-Jo with Jean Georges Vongerichten in the early ‘90’s. Giraldi then helped start the Jean-Georges 4-star namesake restaurant as well as Vong and its London and Hong Kong outposts. Giraldi was also co-owner in Patria and Mercer Kitchen, both of which received 3 stars from The New York Times. His Tuscan fare eatery BREADTribeca earned 2 Stars from The New York Times as his Diablo Royale has become a popular taqueria among young people in the West Village.
Giraldi continues to make his mark in the New York City culinary world by opening two more unique restaurants, Butcher Bay and TONDA, in 2009.
Butcher Bay is a casual 5th street seafood shack dedicated to serving the specialties of boardwalk cuisine. TONDA, in collaboration with restaurateurs Luigi Comandatore and Dario Milanin, will bring the contemporary Naples Italian Pizzeria to East 4th street by mid-to-late March. Customers will eat up a wide array of thin-crusted pizzas cooked on its centerpiece 8-foot wide-burning oven with creative piattini (small plates) on the side.
Mr. Giraldi has been on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts for over thirty years. In 2010, he is slated to become the Chair of the newly formed MPS Independent Short Film Program.
Mr. Giraldi lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter.
