Telling an untold story.
Welcome to the official website of Potentially Dangerous, the feature documentary film from executive producer John Turturro about a time during World War II when Italians in America were persecuted as “Enemy Aliens.” Potentially Dangerous won the 2021 Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum, a program sponsored by The Italian Sons and Daughters of America, AGBO, and The National Italian American Foundation to support projects that tell original Italian American stories.
Executive producer John Turturro is an Italian-American actor, director, producer and writer. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement and has appeared in over sixty feature films and has frequently collaborated with the Coen brothers, Adam Sandler, and Spike Lee. He began his acting career in the early 1980s, and received early critical recognition with the independent film Five Corners.
Turturro appeared in Do the Right Thing, Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Subsequent roles included Quiz Show, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Night Of, The Plot Against America, and The Batman. He currently stars as Irving on the Apple TV+ series Severance, which he recently received an Emmy nomination for.
An Emmy Award-winner, Turturro has also been nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Independent Spirit Awards. He wrote and directed Mac, which won the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Illuminata, Romance and Cigarettes, Passione, and The Jesus Rolls.
He has worked on many projects from great Italian directors and authors including Francesco Rosi, Primo Levi, Italo Calvino, and Eduardo De Filippo, and has always enjoyed working in Italy on documentaries, theater plays and narrative films. Turturro's family is originally from Sicily and Puglia.
Meet our Executive Producer
Photo: Maarten de Boer
meet the rest of the team
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Zach Baliva
Director and producer Zach Baliva started his career working for the writers and producers of the hit TV show ER. He left to produce My Name is Jerry, the feature film that gave Steven Yeun (Minari) his first on-screen role. Baliva traces his roots to Italy’s Abruzzo region and has lived and worked in Rome and Venice.
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Noah Readhead
Cinematographer and producer Noah Readhead travels the world creating branded content for clients like Verizon and Sony. He also produced the award-winning short documentary Always Coming Back.
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Naomi Baliva
Producer Naomi Baliva has worked in children’s animation and feature films. As Il Ponte Film Group’s president, she helps coordinate projects in Italy, where she served in the United States Navy. She is currently studying improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade.
