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