De Felitta was born in New York City. His father was Italian American and his mother was of Polish Jewish descent. De Felitta graduated from the American Film Institute's directing program, class of 1990.That same year he was nominated for an Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 63rd Academy Awards for his AFI thesis short, Bronx Cheers.In 1995 he wrote and directed Cafe Society starring Frank Whaley, Peter Gallagher and Lara Flynn Boyle. In 2000 De Felitta directed the indie film Two Family House which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival along with an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay. In 2003 he directed Paul Reiser's The Thing About My Folks which received the Audience Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.The film was released in 2005 by Picture House. In 2006 De Felitta directed his first documentary 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris, which won the Best Jazz Documentary at the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee. The film was released in 2007 by Outsider Pictures.In 2009, De Felitta wrote and directed the independent film City Island, which received the First Place Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film opened in theaters 19 March 2010.In 2012, De Felitta directed Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story.Music careerDe Felitta is a lifelong jazz pianist. In 1994 he self-produced his first album, "Movies 'til Dawn." His second album, "Fatha Land," was produced in 2007. This album is a tribute to Earl Hines.
