Michael Angelo Covino (born 1984) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He has produced, written, directed, and starred in '' The Climb'' (2019) and ''

Splitsville ''Splitsville'' may refer to: * "Splitsville" (''How I Met Your Mother''), 2012 television episode * ''Splitsville'' (film), 2025 film {{disambiguation ...

'' (2025).

Early life

Covino graduated from

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

Career

Covino is a frequent collaborator with friend Kyle Marvin, with the two serving as producers on ''

Kicks A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of a ...

'' by

Justin Tipping Justin Tipping is an American television and film director, screenwriter, and executive producer best known for his work on ''Kicks'' (2016), '' Flatbush Misdemeanors'' (2021), and '' Joe vs. Carole'' (2022). Career In 2016, Tipping began hi ...

and ''

Hunter Gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially wi ...

'' by Josh Locy, and working on commercials and music videos. The two run the production company ''Watch This Ready''. In 2018, Covino directed, starred, and co-wrote alongside Marvin, ''The Climb'' a short film, focusing on a friendship between two lifelong friends, which premiered at the

2018 Sundance Film Festival The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017. Awards The following awards were presented: * U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: '' T ...

. The short was later expanded into a feature-length film film of the same name, financed by

Topic Studios Topic Studios is an American film production company owned by First Look Media. The company is known for producing films '' Leave No Trace'' (2018), '' Luce'' (2019), '' The Climb'' (2019), and ''The Mauritanian'' (2021). The company also produc ...

. '' The Climb'' had its world premiere at the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president for the main competition. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won the , the festival's top prize, fo ...

in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section, where it was acquired by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

. It subsequently screened at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado, during Labor Day, Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 51st Telluride Film Festival, 51st edition took place on August 30–September ...

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, and

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. It was released in November 2020, following delays due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2025, Covino's second film ''

Splitsville ''Splitsville'' may refer to: * "Splitsville" (''How I Met Your Mother''), 2012 television episode * ''Splitsville'' (film), 2025 film {{disambiguation ...

'' in which he co-wrote with Marvin and stars opposite

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a nomination for a British Academy Film Award. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Johnson made her ...

and

Adria Arjona Adria Arjona Torres (; born April 25, 1992) is an American actress. She played Dorothy Gale in the Oz book adaptation ''Emerald City'' (2017), Anathema Device in ''Good Omens'' (2019), and Bix Caleen in '' Andor'' (2022–2025). She has starr ...

will have its world premiere at the

2025 Cannes Film Festival The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2025. French actress Juliette Binoche served as jury president for the main competition. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama ...

to be released by

Neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...

. As an actor, Covino has starred in ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

'' (2020) by

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is an English film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. One of his early films, '' Bloody Sunday'' (2002), won the Golden Bear at 52nd Berlin International Film Festival. Other f ...

, '' Riff Raff'' (2024) by

Dito Montiel Orlandito Montiel is an American author, filmmaker, and musician. Early Career & Music Born in New York City, Montiel was active in the early '80s New York hardcore punk scene when he was vocalist for Queens-based Major Conflict. Later, he woul ...

, and '' Notice to Quit'' (also 2024) by Simon Hacker.

Filmography

Feature film

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Covino, Michael Angelo 1984 births American male screenwriters Occidental College alumni Living people Film directors from New York (state)