Meet the Team
Founder
Nora Jänicke
Nora Jänicke is a Berlin-based filmmaker and writer whose work explores the emotional undercurrents of memory, identity, and human connection. Born in Italy to German parents and raised across continents, she brings an intimate, globally-minded perspective to narratives shaped by displacement, longing, coming of age, and the fluid boundaries between memory and reality.
Her debut feature film "Isola" starring Joanna Kulig and Fanny Ardant was completed in fall 2024 and is currently awaiting its festival premiere. Her short film The Reading premiered at the Oscar-qualifying LA Shorts Film Festival, and she has written and directed eight short films that have collectively received over 30 international awards. Her feature screenplay Whales has been recognized by several top-tier competitions, including Oscar-qualifying festivals such as Nashville and Beverly Hills.In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Nora is the founder of the Nostos Screenwriting Retreat and the Elba Film Festival, both dedicated to nurturing emerging talent and fostering a global community of screenwriters and independent filmmakers.
Retreat coordinator
Lucia Rose Buffa
Lucia works across the fields of visual communication, photography, and web & social media management in creative and artistic spaces. She has lived, worked and studied in the UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain, and is currently based in South Tyrol, Italy.
Nostos Docs Lab coordinator
Chiara Fornale'
Chiara is an Italian-American film and video editor, camera operator, and cinematographer with a keen instinct for visual storytelling and a passion for crafting engaging digital content. Her work spans film, documentary, advertising, and branded content, blending creativity with technical expertise. She has lived, worked, and studied in Italy and the United States and is currently based in Los Angeles, California
Retreat manager
Elia Misesti
Elia Misesti is a filmmaker and documentarist. Born and raised in Arezzo, he moved first to London and then to Milan, where he studied communication and cinema with two exchange programs in Buenos Aires and Istanbul. He has attended several courses and workshops, among which Werner Herzog's "Film Accelerator". He has made a few short/medium-length films: Under the Tempo (2015), I I (2015), Along the Surface (2016), Tartaros (2021), Lungo la strada (2021). Recuerdo de Travesía (2021) is his first feature film with which he participated in several film festivals. He’s currently working on a new documentary project with the production company 39films.
Retreat manager
Isabella Egizi
Isabella Egizi is an american actress and filmmaker based in Arezzo, Italy. With a BA in Theatre and Film Studies from Colorado College, she worked for several years in Los Angeles as an actress, writer, director, and producer. Some of her most exciting projects include the premiere stage production of Allison After a Fire at the Edinburgh Fringe (2016), and the award-winning indie features July Rising (2018), and Headshots (2018). Her most recent feature film, You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In, will be released in the US in January 2024. She joined the Nostos team for the first time in 2023 and looks forward to welcoming many more writers to Tuscany!
Retreat assistant
Fam Schaper
Fam Schaper is a Berlin-based author. She studied history, worked as a journalist and published multiple novels for women in their 20s.
In the heart of her stories are always strong flawed women who are trying to find their place in the world and help each other on their journeys. Female friendships are always the center in her romance novals. She also loves other genres, is working on a fantasy novel and want to explore other forms of storytelling for example screenwriting.
Retreat assistant
Audrey Lane
AUDREY LANE is a Brooklyn based filmmaker and actor. Audrey holds a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she studied Drama at Playwrights Horizons and minored in Psychology. Since graduating, Audrey has written and directed films and music videos that have been selected to appear at the Boston Film Festival (Best Short Film), Austin Film Festival, LA Women in Film Fest - to name a few. In 2021, Audrey’s feature-length screenplay "Balloons Over Neptune," was selected as a Finalist for the Sundance Feature Film Development Lab and earned her acceptance into the Nostos Screenwriting Fellowship, where she first fell in love with the program. Most recently, Audrey was invited to take part in the Austin Film Festival's 2022 Writers Conference and Pitch Competition, which she attended in October. Audrey is passionate about telling heart-centred stories that confront mental illness, disability, and family dynamics. With her work, Audrey wishes to capture the love that can be lost between "what is said and not meant, and meant but not said" (Kahlil Gibran).