Biography
Giuseppe Aquino (Rome) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He lives and works in Rome and has produced more than 100 films, documentaries, theatre shows and TV programmes. Recognised as an acclaimed director by the Oxford University Press, British Council and Italian Ministry of Education, he is the founder and owner of Caravan Films Rome. Long committed to tackling social issues, Aquino specialises in d'auteur and ethical cinema. With his latest film, Quarantena Live - The Film (2021) he attained a world record for Italy as the only feature-length production filmed and completed during the Italian lockdown. He is an honorary member of the International Rotary Club.
Having worked as a screenwriter since 1987, Aquino made his debut as a director in 1996 with the television programme Strike, aired on the national channel Cinquestelle. In the following years he devoted himself to experimental cinema with Equilibri (2009) (Finale, Napoli Film Festival) and Tsunami (2009) (Marbella Film Festival, Milan Film Festival).
In 2008 he founded Caravan Films Rome, an ethical production company for cinema, theatre and television. An Art School became part of Caravan Films in 2010, offering professional training in the film sector through annual scholarships. This includes training for actors based on Aquino's Oniqua method. This is a fusion of the Stanislavsky methodology and the lesser-known techniques used by film director Vittorio De Sica, imparted to Aquino by actor Carlo Delle Piane (trained by De Sica).
In 2008 he began working with Carlo Delle Piane (Golden Lion Film Award 1996), chosen by Aquino as protagonist for the documentary L'Alba del Possibile, the theatrical production Io, Anna e Napoli and the documentary Il bello del cinema italiano (2011) with Franco Battiato and Pupi Avati. In 2013 the documentary was turned into the theatrical production Il bello del cinema italiano (2011), performed at the Auditorium in Rome. Carlo Delle Piane also starred in the film L'altra infanzia (2018) (The Other Children); the last film in which he acted. L'altra infanzia (2018) focused on the theme of child poverty in Italy and was submitted for selection in the Cannes Films Festival 2018. The film led to the adoption in Italy of the 2019 "Bonus Latte" law granting 400 Euros to mothers in poverty.
Committed to raising awareness about the themes of child poverty and related social issues, in 2018 Aquino produced for the Italian Banking Foundations Association (ACRI) the films "Bambini Italia" - presented to the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella on the occasion of ACRI's 24th National Congress - and "New Visions of Social Housing" to support a project for tackling educational poverty. In 2019, Aquino became official testimonee for "Spazio Legalità", a project to tackle bullying in schools. In recognition for his commitment to social issues, Aquino has been for many years appointed an honorary member of the International Rotary Club (Rome Tevere, since 2017, and Rome Foro Italico, since 2018). In 2019 he received an award for his thirty-year long career by the Rotary Clubs of Sorrento and Capri.
In 2016, Aquino created the "Progetto Comune 7903"; a project for the cultural enhancement of towns with less than five thousand inhabitants. The project aims to stimulate a series of initiatives aimed at bringing an end the progressive emptying of rural areas, particularly by young people. The project was inaugurated in Santa Croce Del Sannio with the Mayor, Antonio di Maria, and the Councillor for Culture, Angelo Cassetta. It has since been expanded to a series of municipalities in the province of Benevento.
Over the years, Aquino has directed a number of films for the Catholic Church, including two documentaries for the 53rd and 55th World Days of Social Communication. In 2021 he began the series In famiglia (2021); five documentary films for the Diocese of Rome with the auxiliary bishop, Monsignor Dario Gervasi, dedicated to families during Lent.
In 2017, he began the screenplay and production of a film on the life of Saint Peter Chanel, "Un Uomo Buono, Viaggio di Sola Andata", set on the Pacific island of Futuna, devising innovative methods for directing the scenes virtually. Based on the study of the film, from 2018 to 2019 he conducted a training course on costumes for undergraduates at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Building on the virtual filming techniques developed for the production of Un Uomo Buono, in 2020 Aquino made Quarantena Live - The Film (2021), the world's first feature-length film on the Coronavirus pandemic shot entirely remotely. The film was produced during the first lockdown in Italy, in full compliance with the Italian lockdown restrictions (DCPM) which began 9 March 2020. The film was sent on 12 June 2020 to compete in selection at the Venice International Film Festival 2020. The first world preview of the film was screened by the University of Benevento on 13 November 2020.
Quarantena Live - The Film (2021) aims to communicate a message of hope and solidarity during a time of great suffering. It also serves as a historical document, which can be used to understand the experience of the lockdown on a sociological and anthropological level. In practical terms, the film granted work to more than 100 individuals, including the artistic and technical cast, at a time when most artists in Italy were unemployed. The director wished to pay tribute to the doctors who demonstrated bravery and heroism during the Covid19 emergency, sometimes to the point of sacrificing their lives. For this reason, the renowned Italian doctor, Giuseppe De Donno, plays the part of himself while working in the hospital. The film's cast also includes actors Luca Paniconi, Luca Avallone and Marina Suma. A world premiere of the film was organised on 13 November 2020 at the State University of Benevento. On this occasion, the University declared in a press release that Aquino was a key figure for Italy's audio-visual sector.
