Biography

Emanuele Gerosa was born in 1975 in Rovereto, a small town in the Italian Alps. In 2001, he earned a degree in Contemporary History from the University of Bologna and, that same year, began working as a filmmaker. From the very beginning, he was drawn to documentary filmmaking, channeling his passion for the study of history into a desire to tell the stories of ordinary people through the camera.

In 2007, he began collaborating with an Italian NGO to make his first two medium-length documentaries. KAMENGE NORTHERN QUARTERS in Burundi and LION SOULS in Zimbabwe. Both films were selected in several international festivals, winning various awards, including the "Silver Audience Award" at the 15º Amnesty International Film Festival in 2010 in Canada and the "Jury Prize in the Documentaries Competition" at the 16º Ismailia International Festival in 2013 in Egypt.

In 2015, he completed his first feature-length documentary, BETWEEN SISTERS, the intimate portrait of his mother Ornella and his aunt Teresa, two sisters who must come to terms with their past and face a painful secret that could change their bond forever. The film traveled to numerous festivals worldwide and received several awards, including the "Special Mention" at 61º SEMINCI - Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid, in Spain in 2016, and the "Special Mention for Audiovisual Discovery" at the 36º PRIX SCAM in France in 2017.

In 2019, he accomplished his second feature-length documentary, ONE MORE JUMP. The film follows the life of Jehad and Abdallah, two parkour athletes who must discover whether there is a path that can lead to freedom for those who, like them, were born in a prison. The film screened at many international festivals and received numerous awards. Amongst others, the "Best European Documentary" at 34º PRIX EUROPA in 2020, and the "Étoiles de la SCAM" at 16º Festival les Étoiles du documentaire in France in 2021.

This year, Emanuele has just finished his third feature film titled LOW LIES THE LAND, produced by the Danish production company Real Lava and the Dutch Imagine5. The film tells the story of several Piedmontese winemaking families who are trying to keep centuries of tradition alive in a world ravaged by the climate crisis and dominated by market forces. The film will have its World Premiere in September at 51º TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival.

Since 2021, Emanuele has been a member of the European Film Academy.
- IMDb mini biography by: Emanuele Gerosa