David Roma is a television producer, filmmaker, musician and activist, born in 1974. The son of 1950s and 1960s Capitol Records recording artist Frank Roma and grandson of a classical pianist, David spent his early years until the age of 21 developing a career as a concert pianist before leaving his pursuit in 1996 to become a writer, producer and director of films and television shows. David has performed live around the world and has produced beats for members of the Wu-Tang Clan and composed the music for many of his TV shows.
After attending the Juilliard School, he worked with videographer Don Munroe, who directed Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes, and other multi-media projects that were spawned from The Factory.[1] Roma has gone on to become a producer and key creative force behind several global TV franchises and has worked with various networks and studios, including FX (TV network), E!, Fuse TV, Discovery Channel, TLC (TV channel), VH1, Independent Film Channel and HBO to name a few.
After two of his pit bulls jumped from the roof of a building he was inspired to produce a documentary, Off The Chain, that exposes the world of dog fighting. The documentary was part of a landmark 1st Amendment supreme court hearing where Justice Sonia Sotomayor debated the legality of the film's violent imagery. It was decided in the Supreme Court that if the filmmakers intent is for awareness or education, there is no question of its legality. David's first feature narrative was a Bollywood/Hollywood crossover film in a partnership with Sa Re Ga Ma, a century-old Indian media giant, entitled Karma, Confessions, and Holi.
During 2006 and 2007, he directed the pilot and first season of Miami Ink which went on to shoot over 100 episodes and had several spin-offs. He reunited with Original Media founder Charlie Corwin once again to create and executive produce Dirt Demons for Fuse TV. Roma has gone on to create several TV franchises including co-creating along with Snoop Dogg a reality sitcom about the infamous rapper and his family life entitled Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, which aired 2 seasons on E!. The show was a co-production between Roma and E! studios.
In late 2010, David began working with Josh Fox to produce the highly critically acclaimed feature-length documentary Gasland. The film was accepted into competition in the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and won the coveted Special Jury Prize. In 2011, the film won an Emmy as well as being nominated for an Oscar for the 2011 Academy Awards.
In 2018, Roma launched a production company, Polymath Group. They have produced one feature documentary that Roma directed and are currently in development with several new TV franchises.