The Jury - RIFF - Rome Independent Film Festival

JURY

This year, RIFF pays tribute to its spectators introducing the Audience Award. The audience, the recipient par excellence and essential pillar of the cinema, will judge the films in competition. Spectators will be called directly to express their opinion on a special sheet of paper delivered at the beginning of the film. The vote will affect the sections of Internationals Short Film. The initiative aims to make the experience in the room more interactive and engaging, allowing the authors to receive direct and immediate feedback.

Barbara Busso was born in Ragusa and graduated in Arts, Music and Entertainment (DAMS) at the University of Bologna with a thesis on the representation of women in Italian cinema and television. She began her career in 2001 as a production secretary on the TV series Commesse 2 and, over the years, took on roles of increasing responsibility until becoming a Production Manager, also gaining experience as a Unit Manager.
She has worked on numerous films with leading directors of Italian cinema, including Giuseppe Tornatore (Baarìa), Gianni Amelio (Il Signore delle Formiche), the Taviani brothers (Luisa San Felice), Carlo Verdone, Ficarra & Picone, and Carlo Vanzina, as well as on international productions such as Everest by Baltasar Kormákur and Romeo & Juliet by Carlo Carlei.
In parallel, she has contributed to successful television series such as Vita da Carlo, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone and Tutto può succedere, as well as advertising campaigns for prestigious brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Porsche, Martini, Etro and Ferragamo.
Her work has earned her three consecutive Pellicola d’Oro awards as Best Production Manager (2022, 2023, and 2024).

Cristian Casella is an entrepreneur, producer, and publisher with an extensive track record in media innovation, public affairs, and government communications. Notably, he managed the strategic communications and public image of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers for several years, overseeing high-profile international summits and G8 events.

A pioneer in media technology, Casella has successfully developed cutting-edge Virtual Production projects and created high-impact television formats in collaboration with major global broadcasters.

In addition to his corporate achievements, he is dedicated to social and cultural initiatives. As a co-founding member of the Italy-USA Foundation, he actively supports programs designed to foster and empower top talent through executive leadership development.

Giancarlo Chetta has been working in the audiovisual sector since 2001, he graduated with a degree in economics and subsequently obtained a master’s degree in audiovisual management and an MBA from SDA Bocconi. He began his professional career working in independent production companies as an administrative manager until 2004. He then focused on marketing and sales for major companies in the sector, such as Technicolor, Fujifilm, Arts Alliance Media, and Laser S. Film. Over the years, he has attended major international festivals and industry events, creating sponsorships and awards with institutions such as the Venice Film Festival, the Trieste Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Syracuse Film Festival, the Mia Market, and Milano Film L’Atelier, to name a few. Over the last 10 years, he has been scouting for independent and international projects to co-produce, mainly through participation in audio, video, and VFX post-production agreements. He has therefore built up a solid network with the main players in the industry, particularly in the production and distribution sectors, independent productions, and the main Italian and international production companies.

Mario Colamarino is a civil rights activist and a law graduate from Rome.
He has been active in the non-profit sector for over a decade and currently serves as President of the “Mario Mieli” Homosexual Cultural Circle in Rome, one of Italy’s most prominent LGBTQIA+ associations. He is also the Spokesperson for Roma Pride and the Region 14 Representative on the InterPride Global Advisory Board.
He has previously provided strategic consulting and Diversity & Inclusion services to various companies, organizations, and public bodies. He also contributes occasionally to national magazines and news outlets.

Benjamin Nathaniel Minot is an accomplished filmmaker, director, and creative mentor whose career spans award-winning feature films, documentaries, and branded content. Currently serving his third appointment as a juror at the Rome International Film Festival, Benjamin is based in Rome, where he covers the Italian movie scene for foreign media outlets and seeks compelling new collaborations.

After a decade of working in Hollywood, Benjamin relocated to Italy, serving as cinematographer on seven feature films and numerous shorts, largely through his longstanding affiliation with The Actors Centre of Rome. Known for his visionary storytelling and deeply collaborative approach, his work has been showcased at leading international festivals and broadcast worldwide.

Driven by courage and integrity, Ben gravitates toward projects where creativity, passion, and technique merge to produce unflinching, thought-provoking cinema that speaks truth to power. This purpose-driven ethos led him to found MondoVision Studios in 2013, focusing on visual content for social enterprises, a venture that ultimately earned him an invitation to speak at the United Nations on technology’s potential to elevate humanity.

Rafael is an artist who continuously interrogates the cinematic medium and the mechanisms of storytelling, both through the films he creates and through their manipulation and deconstruction in live cinema performances and audiovisual installations.
Rafael has presented his film works as screenings, installations, and performances at numerous festivals, museums, and cultural institutions throughout Europe, the Americas, and Asia, including Tate Britain in London, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea (MMCA) in Seoul, the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in Germany, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Netherlands, Transmediale in Berlin, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, and Singapore Art Week, among many others.
His work can best be described as a convergence of cinema and conceptual art, and, in its live manifestations, of experimental music and moving images, all composed and performed live before an audience.

Alessandro Rossetto is known for a brand of cinema, spanning both documentary and fiction, that is at once realistic and poetic, exploring themes of society, economics, and identity. His works examine the economic crisis, family dynamics, and social contradictions.
A director, screenwriter, and producer, he studied anthropology and cinema in Bologna and Paris. His filmography includes “Il Fuoco di Napoli” (1997), “Bibione Bye Bye One” (1999), “Chiusura” (2002), “Feltrinelli” (2006), “Piccola Patria” (2013), “Effetto Domino” (2019), and “The Italian Banker” (2021), films that have been presented at major festivals and distributed worldwide.

JURY

Barbara Busso

Cristian Casella

Giancarlo Chetta

Mario Colamarino

Ben Minot

Rafael

Alessandro Rossetto

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