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).

Barbara Busso

Giancarlo Chetta

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.

Gabriele Ciampi è un AI Filmmaker, innovatore nel campo cinematografico e compositore pluripremiato che sta ridefinendo il futuro della narrazione visiva attraverso l’Hybrid AI Docushort, un nuovo formato da lui ideato, in cui la musica scritta a mano guida immagini fotorealistiche generate dall’intelligenza artificiale, dando vita a un’esperienza poetica ed emotivamente intensa.

Formatosi al prestigioso Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia a Roma e specializzatosi in Film Scoring e Cinema Studies alla UCLA di Los Angeles, Ciampi unisce il rigore della composizione classica europea al linguaggio visivo del cinema hollywoodiano. Nonostante l’utilizzo di tecnologie d’avanguardia, continua a comporre interamente a mano, matita, carta e pianoforte, facendo della musica l’architettura portante di ogni suo film.

Nel corso della sua carriera ha raggiunto traguardi storici: nel 2015 è stato il primo compositore italiano a dirigere le proprie musiche alla Casa Bianca su invito della First Lady Michelle Obama, e nel 2017 si è esibito per Papa Francesco in Vaticano in occasione della Giornata Mondiale della Pace. È fondatore e direttore della CentOrchestra, attiva tra Europa e Stati Uniti dal 2012, e la sua musica è distribuita a livello internazionale da Universal Music Group.

I suoi docushorts realizzati con l’AI, tra cui The Elements of LifeThrough the Flames e Into the White, hanno ricevuto riconoscimenti internazionali per la potente fusione tra musica classica, immagini fotorealistiche generate dall’intelligenza artificiale e un linguaggio narrativo inedito.

Recentemente, Ciampi ha avviato una collaborazione con OpenAI per la creazione di SARA, il primo assistente AI progettato da un artista: un esperimento che mira a umanizzare l’intelligenza artificiale e ad aprire nuove possibilità di co-creazione per registi, sceneggiatori e compositori.

Come evoluzione naturale di questo percorso, Ciampi ha introdotto nel suo lavoro gli Hybrid AI Actors: attori ibridi generati con intelligenza artificiale, basati su persone reali che desiderano entrare nel mondo del cinema ma che, per motivi personali o professionali, non hanno mai avuto questa opportunità.

Con gli attori ibridi, tutti possono esprimersi: prima della creazione del personaggio digitale, c’è sempre una persona in carne e ossa che recita, parla, racconta se stessa e la propria storia.

Questa idea rappresenta un passo decisivo verso una nuova forma di collaborazione tra essere umano e macchina, e un modo rivoluzionario di pensare il futuro del cinema.

Presentati per la prima volta a Los Angeles nel luglio 2025, in occasione del LA Shorts Film Festival, questi attori ibridi sono in grado di esprimere emozioni autentiche, introspezione e presenza scenica. Guidati dalla musica e dalla scrittura, danno volto e anima a personaggi completamente nuovi, segnando un ulteriore passaggio verso una narrazione in cui l’AI diventa strumento espressivo e umano, non solo tecnologico.

Che si trovi sul palco, in studio o al confine tra tecnologia e arte, Gabriele Ciampi sta dando forma a un nuovo linguaggio per il cinema: Hybrid AI Filmmaking, in cui emozione, innovazione e musica si intrecciano per immaginare ciò che il cinema può diventare.

 

Gabriele Ciampi is an award-winning AI Filmmaker and composer, known for redefining cinematic storytelling through Hybrid AI Filmmaking — a groundbreaking format he created, where handwritten music leads AI-generated visuals in emotionally immersive narratives.

Educated at the prestigious Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome and later specialized in Film Scoring and Cinema Studies at UCLA in Los Angeles, Ciampi bridges the classical rigor of European composition with the visual language of Hollywood cinema. Despite embracing cutting-edge technologies, he continues to compose entirely by hand, pencil, paper, and piano, making music the structural foundation of every film he creates.

Throughout his career, Ciampi has achieved historic milestones: in 2015, he became the first Italian composer to conduct his own music at the White House by invitation of First Lady Michelle Obama, and in 2017, he performed for Pope Francis at the Vatican during the World Day of Peace. He is the founder and conductor of CentOrchestra, active across Europe and the United States since 2012, and his music is internationally released by Universal Music Group.

His AI-driven docushorts, including The Elements of LifeThrough the Flames, and Into the White, have won international acclaim for their powerful fusion of classical music, photorealistic AI visuals, and innovative narrative structure.

Recently, Ciampi partnered with OpenAI to develop SARA, the first AI assistant ever designed by an artist, an experiment aimed at humanizing artificial intelligence and unlocking new possibilities for collaboration between filmmakers, screenwriters, and composers.

As a natural evolution of this journey, Ciampi introduced the concept of Hybrid AI Actors: virtual actors generated with artificial intelligence but based on real people, individuals who want to enter the cinematic world but have never had the opportunity to do so.

With Hybrid AI Actors, everyone can express themselves: before the digital character is created, there is always a real person behind it, someone who acts, speaks, and shares their story.

This approach marks a decisive step toward a new model of collaboration between humans and machines, and a revolutionary vision for the future of cinema.

Premiered in Los Angeles in July 2025 at the LA Shorts Film Festival, these hybrid actors are capable of expressing authentic emotion, inner life, and on-screen presence. Guided by music and storytelling, they give voice and soul to entirely new characters, taking the role of AI in filmmaking beyond technology, toward something expressive and deeply human.

Whether on stage, in the studio, or at the intersection of technology and art, Gabriele Ciampi is shaping a new cinematic language: Hybrid AI Filmmaking, where emotion, innovation, and music come together to reimagine what cinema can become.

Gabriele Ciampi

Mario Colamarino

Mario Colamarino is an activist and jurist committed to defending LGBTQIA+ rights. He is president of the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale “Mario Mieli” and spokesperson for the Roma Pride, and is considered one of the most important figures in Italian LGBTQIA+ activism. Under his leadership, Roma Pride has grown to become one of the largest and most significant civil rights demonstrations in the country, with a record of one million participants in 2024. In addition to his activism, Colamarino collaborates with various magazines and newspapers, and works as a consultant for Diversity and Inclusion in companies and public institutions, promoting projects of training, inclusion, and awareness.

Director, screenwriter, and musician, Enzo d’Alò is one of Europe’s leading figures in animated cinema. His seven feature films — from The Blue Arrow and Lucky and Zorba to Pinocchio and A Greyhound of a Girl — have earned both critical and popular acclaim worldwide. His works are known for their poetic imagery, strong musical identity, and humanistic values. Among his many awards are two nominations at the European Film Awards, the UNICEF Special Mention (2009), the Franco Bianchi Prize at the Venice Film Festival (2013), and Best Animated Feature at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (2023).

Enzo D’Alò

Benjamin Minot

Benjamin Nathaniel Minot is an accomplished filmmaker, director, and creative mentor whose career spans award-winning feature films,  and numerous short films, primarily through his longstanding affiliation with The Actors Centre of Rome. Known for his innovative visionary storytelling and collaborative approach, Benjamin’s influential work has been showcased at leading international festivals and broadcast worldwide.

Benjamin believes that when ideas, ethos, and technique merge, the result can produce important work. He is always attuned to what a work communicates. Brave, honest, thought-provoking films and unflinching stories that speak truth to power are what he most admires in cinema.

A passionate and respected spokesperson for nature and the environment, Benjamin has spoken at the United Nations about the potential for technology to solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges.

Currently, he is the founder and director of Mondovision Studios an innovative production facility based in London. Benjamin is the go-to expert for insights into the future of film and media tech. This is his second appointment as juror at the Rome Independent Film Festival.

Maria Teresa Monaco is a casting director and extras coordinator with over 15 years of experience in the field. She began her career with various street castings for both Italian and international films (“È stato il figlio” by Daniele Ciprì, “Point Break”, “Stratton”, “Hotaru”) and national and international commercials (Tim, Peroni, Ferrarelle, Orangina). She has continued her career by casting successful series and films (“Skam Italia”, “Ghiaccio”, “Ti mangio il cuore”).

Maria Teresa Monaco