Stefano Casertano Explained

Stefano Casertano is an italian film director and producer.

Casertano co-produced the film The Mafia Is No Longer What It Used to Be by Franco Maresco, awarded a "Silver Lion" as Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival - La Biennale di Venezia^[1] in 2019. He directed the narrative VR film "Tales of the march", selected by the 80. Venice Film Festival for the "Venice Immersive" section in 2023.^[2]

He has been nominated "Italian Leader" by the Council for the United States and Italy and "Junior Fellow" by the Aspen Institute,^[3] and is an alumn of the Venice Biennale College for Virtual Reality.^[4] He holds a Ph.D. "Magna cum Laude" in Politics from Potsdam University, and an MBA from Columbia University, New York.^[5]

Film career

His 2016 docufiction "People of Love and Rage" ("Gente di amore e Rabbia") won the DocFeed Film Festival in Eindhoven,^[6] received the Special Mention of the Jury at the Rome Independent Film Festival^[7] and has been selected by the Venice Film Week and the Broadway International Film Festival.^{[8] [9]} The production "The Ballad of the Homeless" by Monica Manganelli screened at Cannes Film Festival and has been awarded, among the others, a "Nastro d'Argento" prize in Italy, and won the "LA Short Fest", an Academy Awards Qualifier.^[10]

In 2021, his VR project "Tales of the March" was selected by the Venice Biennale for the development program "Biennale College VR"^[11] and was granted support by the Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg.^[12] Shooting started in March 2023^[13] and the film was later selected by the "Venice Immersive" section of the 80. Venice Film Festival.^[14]

His film "The Poet who would be King" ("Il Poeta che volle farsi Re"), dedicated to poet Gabriele d'Annunzio and his "Impresa di Fiume", has been produced by Cinecittà - Luce and by Fondazione Vittoriale degli Italiani, starring historian Giordano Bruno Guerri and art-critic Vittorio Sgarbi. The film has been presented at Vittoriale for the 100th anniversary of d'Annunzio's ill-fated endeavour.^[15]

In 2022, film company Titanus announced the production of Casertano's fiction film "La Guerra di Elena".^[16] The film has been granted a selective contribution by the Italian Culture Ministry.^[17]

Filmography

• "La Guerra di Elena" ("Elena at War"), 2025, fiction, 110' - Director and co-producer^[18] - in production
• "Tales of the March", 2023, immersive short, 12' - Producer and director^[19]
• "American Ring", 2022, Documentary, colour, 80' - Producer and director^[20]
• "The Poet who would be King" ("Il Poeta che volle farsi Re"), 2022, Documentary, colour, 85' - Producer and director^[21]
• "The mafia is no Longer what it used to be" ("La mafia non è più quella di una volta") by Franco Maresco, 2019, Documentary, colour, 105' - Co-producer
• "People of Love and Rage", 2016, Docufiction, B/W, 88' - Writer and Director
• "The Ballad of the Homeless" by Monica Manganelli, 2015, Animation, colour, 12' - Executive Producer^[22]
• "There Was Once a Sea", 2015, Documentary, colour, 84' - Writer and Director
• "The Last Days of Tacheles", 2014, Documentary, colour, 93' - Writer and Director

Fiction books

• "A morte Toscanini!", fiction, Bertoni Editore, 2024, ISBN-13: 978-8855358149
• "Lavorare è un lusso", fiction, Edizioni progetto cultura, 2006, EAN: 9788860920843

Non-fiction books

• "La Terza Rivoluzione Digitale", non-fiction, Baldini+Castoldi, 2023, ISBN-13: 979-1254940990
• "Our Land, Our Oil!: Natural Resources, Local Nationalism, and Violent Secession", non-fiction, Springer, 2012, ASIN: B00I6287KE
• "La guerra del clima", non-fiction, Francesco Brioschi Editore, 2010, ISBN-13: 978-8895399454
• "Sfida all'ultimo barile", non-fiction, Francesco Brioschi Editore, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-8895399225

Notes and References

1. Web site: 'Mafia Is Not What It Used to Be' ('La Mafia non e piu quella di una volta'): Film Review . . 10 September 2019 . 2019-09-15.
2. Web site: 2023-07-12 . Biennale Cinema 2023 Tales of the March . 2023-09-26 . La Biennale di Venezia . en.
3. Web site: Stefano Casertano - Festival dell'energia . 2011.festivaldellenergia.it . 2013-08-15.
4. Web site: The Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality workshop draws to a close . 2023-04-08 . Cineuropa - the best of european cinema . 20 January 2021 . en.
5. Web site: The European - Das Debatten-Magazin . 2024-11-14 . The European . de-DE.
6. Web site: PERSBERICHT DOCfeed award winnaars. Docfeed. 2017-03-13.
7. Web site: THE AWARDS OF THE XV EDITION OF THE RIFF: "YOU'LL NEVER BE ALONE" BY ALEX ANWANDTER. THE QUEER CHILEAN FILM WINS THE RIFF AWARDS. . Rome Independent Film Festival . 1 December 2016 .
8. Web site: Venice Film Week. Designova. www.venicefilmweek.com. 2016-12-17.
9. Web site: Broadway International Film Festival. www.broadwayfilmfestival.com. 2016-12-17.
10. Web site: The Ballad of the Homeless, (short animated film-2015). 2015-08-22. Monica Manganelli. it-IT. 2020-02-06.
11. Web site: 2021-01-19 . Biennale Cinema 2021 Biennale College Cinema Virtual Reality: the 12-19 January workshop . 2023-04-08 . La Biennale di Venezia . en.
12. News: Medienboard fördert 16 Projekte im Bereich 'Innovative Audiovisuelle Inhalte' . Medienboard supports 16 projects in the field of 'Innovative Audiovisual Content' . GamesMarkt . 10 December 2020 . de .
13. medienboard . 1641432728871784449 . Dreharbeiten in Brandenburg für den immersiven Fiction-Film 'Tales of the March' #mbbgefördert Das Projekt von Regisseur Stefano Casertano und VR Creator Tim Deussen war 2021 bei Venice VR @la_Biennale College ausgewählt! .
14. Web site: Barone . Martina . 2023-09-06 . Tales of the March è l'esperienza direzionale VR sull'Olocausto . 2023-09-26 . The Hollywood Reporter Roma . it-IT.
15. News: Festival Dannunziano: ritmo, velocità e movimento . d'Annunzio Festival: Rhythm, Speed and Movement . L'Opinione delle Libertà . 25 August 2021 . it .
16. News: I nuovi progetti Titanus . The new Titanus projects . Cinematografo . 4 October 2022 . it .
17. Web site: Elena la matta - film in lavorazione - film & docu . 2023-04-08 . Filmitalia . it.
18. Web site: Francesco . Davide Di . 2022-10-05 . Titanus, svelati i nuovi progetti in sviluppo per il 2023-2024 . 2023-04-08 . Ciak Magazine . it-IT.
19. Web site: 2021-01-19 . Biennale Cinema 2021 Biennale College Cinema Virtual Reality: the 12-19 January workshop . 2023-04-08 . La Biennale di Venezia . en.
20. Web site: American Ring: il documentario sull'incredibile mondo del wrestling- Video Gazzetta.it . 2023-04-08 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 21 September 2022 . it-IT.
21. Web site: Il poeta che volle farsi re - 2021 - documentari - film & docu . 2023-04-08 . Filmitalia . it.
22. Web site: The Ballad of the Homeless – New Europe Film Sales. en-US. 2020-02-06.