Dena Altamore

Dena is passionate and relentless about making a film that she believes in come to fruition. She is a skilled director with a sharp eye and kind soul that magically finds a way to connect with everyone on set. Bringing out the best of those who cross her path, she makes a film set feel like a family and playtime, instead of work, while also being incredibly professional and efficient at the same time. Before establishing her company DNA Collaborative, Dena graduated with honors from Tribeca Flashpoint College in 2016 where she fell in love with filmmaking. Before graduating Dena was offered an exclusive position at NBC Universal, to be part of the clearance department which produced all four of Dick Wolf’s Chicago series: Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago Justice. She acquired invaluable knowledge from her time with NBC but knew her heart belonged to the creative process.

She then directed and produced a few award winning short films, one that had the honor of being showcased in the “Short Film Corner” at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Dena was recently asked to direct a film that takes place in Nigeria. The production is currently on hold due to COVID and will resume when safe to do so. She then met Shelly who wrote an LGBT friendly coming of age script known as, “Molly’s GayWakening”. The film was written with COVID in mind, has a small cast, and requires minimal travel. Shelly and Dena had recently worked together tackling the prestigious Chicago 48 Hour Film Project, This year, our film Love, John was nominated for Best Film and won Best Writing, along with Audience Choice Award for their group.

https://www.dnacollaborative.com/