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About CONTRO VENTO FILM Production & Direction.
Contro Vento means going against the wind. That's how we work, stepping outside the box and pushing against the status quo. Using the resources, people and the back drop around us to make it happen, building momentum as we go and concentrating on story and performances is at our core.
Raffaello Degruttola - Founder
Raffaello, an Actor-Writer-Director, was born in Barnet, North London, England to Francesco DeGruttola and Lina Lipizzi who immigrated from Ariano Irpino, Italy in 1970.
At the age of 8 the family moved to Queens NYC for a short time where Raffaello attended St.Anthony's Catholic school in South Ozone Park.
Upon their return to England, Raffaello joined the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Central London, where he trained until the age of 16 before joining The Lee Strasbourg Theater Institute in London.
Raffaello spent time living in the US and the UK working extensively in TV and Film, including playing Private Goldman in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.
Thereafter he continued working as a character actor in a variety of American and European films with notable directors including Ron Howard (Rush), Micheal Apted (Unlocked), Chris Addison (The Hustle) Richard Attenborough (In Love And War) and Mike Nichols (Wit)
In 2010 he wrote and directed his first 30min drama 'The Other Side of My Sleep', inspired by the death of his father and grandmother. Following the film's success in opening the Boston Film Festival, Raffaello went on to shoot his first feature film 'Flim The Movie' - shooting for one day a week over 18 months whilst constructing the story around improvisation to influence the next scene. 'Flim The Movie' was nominated for a Moet British Independent Film Award following its selection for the Raindance Film Festival and The NYC Independent Film Festival.
Heavily influenced by the Danish Dogme 95 rules of film making, Italian Neo Realism and NY cinema of the 70's & 80's, Raffaello went on to write and direct his second feature film, a psychological love story that tackles the corrosion of a relationship due to concealed and unresolved mental health issues. 'Transference: A Bipolar love Story'' was selected for the Arizona and Buenoa Aires International Film Festivals and received the Jury Award at SRFF in NYC.
Bill Bossert - Producer
Bill entered the world of independent filmmaking starting with co-writing and producing the Canadian horror film, “Terror of Dracula” in 2011. Following that, he helped produce the popular and award-winning web-series, “Girl/Girl Scene” and became involved with indie rock bands Hunter Valentine and The Cliks. Bill met Raff Degruttolla during the making of the feature, “Seeking Dolly Hunter” and re-united with Raff in 2020 as creative/executive producer of “Transference: A Love Story”. It was during the filming of “Transference” that Bill was asked to join Contro Vento Films. Aside from Contro Vento, Bill has helped in the production of several short films in the last two years, among them “Bobby Jaws”, “The Love You Want Exists”, “Notice to Quit”, “Type Till You Bleed” and “Swipe Right”.
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