- Born
- Gianfranco Rosi was born on November 30, 1963 in Asmara, Eritrea. He is a director and cinematographer, known for Fire at Sea (2016), Notturno (2020) and Sacro GRA (2013).
- Head of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 67th Locarno International Film Festival in 2014.
- President of the L'OEil d'or jury at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
- Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival in 2021.
- I do everything on my own. I don't want to have an assistant nearby while I film. Once everything is set up I have to be alone. And the camera becomes like a microscope for me. I discover a world. [2020]
- You frame the shot and then you wait for days for something to happen! Instead of saying 'action' I wait for something to happen. But I know that sooner or later it will. Most of the time is waiting, and most of the time is also missing things. But when I'm able to capture something good it becomes dense and fundamental. [2020]
- The camera is there, so there is interaction. There is always a performance. I don't believe in absolute reality. I want to use the language of film in order to transform that into something else. What I film is real; it's there, it's not written. They are not actors, but they are performing. Once you put yourself in front of the camera, no matter what, you change. [2020]
- [on Notturno (2020)] During three years traveling in the Middle East, I met people who live in war zones. I wanted to tell the stories, show the characters, beyond conflict. I kept away from the front line, rather I went where people are trying to cobble their existences back together. In the places where I filmed the echo of war arrives, you can hear its oppressive presence, that burden that is so heavy it prevents any projection into the future. I have attempted to recount the everyday life of those living along the border that separates life from hell. [2020]
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