Diablo Cody
"Juno" was runner-up for the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award, won second prize at the Rome Film Festival, and earned four Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. Cody herself won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for her debut script, which also picked up a Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. She also won screenplay honors from BAFTA, the Writers Guild of America, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, the Satellite Awards, and the 2008 Cinema for Peace Award for Most Valuable Work of Director, Producer & Screenwriter (which she shared with Jason Reitman, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russel Smith and Lianne Halfon).
Giada Colagrande
Colagrande made three short films: “Carnaval” (1997), “Fetus – 4 brings death” (1999), and “n.3” (2000). In 2001, she wrote, directed and starred in her first feature film, "Aprimi il Cuore" (Open My Heart), which opened at the Venice Film Festival 2002, and then was selected by many international film festivals, such as the Tribeca Film Festival 2003, in competition, and Paris Cinéma 2003, where it won the award Prix de l’avenir. Colagrande was also nominated for Best New Director at the Silver Ribbon 2003. Open my Heart was released in Italy by Lucky Red and in the USA by Strand Releasing.