Until 2004 Simone was a Quality Management Consultant when he decided to pursue his childhood dream to become a filmmaker. He made a short film, Believer, which won the first prize at prestigious Milan International Film Festival. With the prize came a scholarship to the one year, fullimmersion filmmaking program at the Los Angeles Film School. When Simone landed with his wife in Los Angeles on October 15, 2004, their plan was to consider the following twelve months as an amazing opportunity to experience a beloved foreign country. The challenges of a new language and a new way of living were already overwhelming, but when Simone received the recognition of his peers and the attention of his teachers, they knew they had to face bigger decisions. They knew that they would have to start all over. Now, ten years later, Simone doesn’t dream of making movies anymore; he is a professional filmmaker with awards in several international festivals both as a screenwriter and as a director. Currently he develops new projects through his production company, SIBA MEDIA LLC, and teaches film as an adjunct professor at Santa Monica City College.