Born in New York City to a Greek mother and Portuguese father, Paolo Marinou-Blanca was raised in several countries, mainly in Europe. In 2000 he was accepted to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts to pursue a Master’s degree in film directing. During the three-year program Paolo wrote and directed two short films and one documentary and was DoP on five short films and one feature documentary. In 2003 he completed a directing internship with Spike Lee on Sucker Free City. Goodnight Irene is his first feature film.