Phil Giordano is a writer/director from Staten Island, New York. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Cortland University. Phil attends New York University's M.F.A. Directing Program in Singapore and is in his third year. At age 23, he made the controversial s16mm short The Empty Playground. The film is about a man struggling with inner-demons who tries to abduct a young girl from a playground. The film went on to screen at 10 film festivals (spanning three continents) and was awarded the Golden Palm at the Mexico International Film Festival and Best Short at the 2010 ZERO Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York. Later, it received distribution from Indieflix, but with a 17 or older rating.