Tao Ruspoli (; born 7 November 1975) is an Italian-American filmmaker, photographer, musician, and co-founder of The
Bombay Beach Biennale.
Early life
Ruspoli was born in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, Thailand, and raised in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy and
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, United States. He is the second son of occasional actor and aristocrat Prince
Alessandro Ruspoli, 9th Prince of
Cerveteri
Cerveteri () is a town and ''comune'' of northern Lazio in the region of the Metropolitan City of Rome. Known by the ancient Romans as Caere, and previously by the Etruscans as Caisra or Cisra, and as Agylla (or ) by the Greeks, its modern name de ...
and Austrian-American actress
Debra Berger
Debra Berger (born March 17, 1957), sometimes credited as Debby Berger or Deborah Berger, is an American actress, artist, and designer.
Life
She was the daughter of actor William Berger from his first marriage in 1957. She was the half-sister ...
. He is the older brother of Bartolomeo Ruspoli (born 6 October 1978 in Rome), second husband of oil heiress Aileen Getty. His half-siblings include
Francesco Ruspoli, 10th Prince of Cerveteri
Don Francesco, Principe Ruspoli (born 31 March 1967) is an Italian banker who is the 10th Principe di Cerveteri, 10th Marchese di Riano, 15th Conte di Vignanello and Prince of the Roman Papal State. He is the son of Alessandro Ruspoli, 9th Prin ...
, Melusine Ruspoli, and Theodoro Ruspoli.
He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1998.
Career
Ruspoli's feature narrative début, ''
Fix'', was one of 10 feature films to screen in competition at the 2008
Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
and soon afterward at the
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986.
The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...
, where Ruspoli was awarded the Heineken Red Star Award for "most innovative and progressive filmmaker". ''Fix'' also won the Festival Award for Best Film at the 2008
Brooklyn Film Festival,
Vail Film Festival The Vail Film Festival is an independent film festival that has taken place annually in Vail, Colorado since 2004. The 19th annual Vail Film Festival will take place virtually from December 1 to 4, 2022.
The festival was founded by Sean Cross and ...
and the 2008 Twin Rivers Media Festival, as well as other prizes at several international festivals.
His most well-known documentaries are ''
Being in the World
''Being in the World'' is a 2010 documentary film directed by Tao Ruspoli. The film is based on Martin Heidegger's philosophy and is inspired by Hubert Dreyfus. It features a number of prominent philosophers.
Philosophers such as Hubert Dreyfus, ...
'', an exploration of the real world implications of the philosophical work of
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
, and ''Monogamish'' starring
Dan Savage
Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes ''Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husba ...
,
Esther Perel
Esther Perel (born 1958) is a Belgian-American psychotherapist, known for her work on human relationships.
Perel promoted the concept of "erotic intelligence" in her book ''Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence'' (2006), which has ...
and
Christopher Ryan
Christopher Ryan (born Christopher Papazoglou; 25 January 1950) is a British actor best known for his roles as Mike TheCoolPerson in the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones'', Dave Hedgehog in the BBC comedy series ''Bottom'', Tony Driscoll in t ...
. His other films include ''Just Say Know'', a personal discussion of his family's drug addictions, and ''Flamenco: A Personal Journey'', a feature-length documentary about the
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
way of life as it is lived by
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
in the south of Spain. He has directed a number of other short documentaries, including ''El Cable'' (also about flamenco), and ''This Film Needs No Title: A Portrait of Raymond Smullyan'', a portrait of the logician, mathematician and concert pianist
Raymond Smullyan
Raymond Merrill Smullyan (; May 25, 1919 – February 6, 2017) was an American mathematician, magician, concert pianist, logician, Taoist, and philosopher.
Born in Far Rockaway, New York, his first career was stage magic. He earned a BSc from th ...
).
In 2000, Ruspoli founded LAFCO, the Los Angeles Filmmakers Cooperative, which is a
bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
collective of filmmakers and musicians who work out of a converted school bus. Through LAFCO, Ruspoli has produced several films. His producing credits include the feature film ''Camjackers'', which he also acted in and co-edited. ''Camjackers'' won the editing award at the 44th
Ann Arbor Film Festival
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the fourth-oldest film festival in North America (after the Yorkton Film Festival, 1947; Columbus International Film ...
.
Tao is an accomplished flamenco guitar player and co-founder of the
Bombay Beach Biennale.
Personal life
Ruspoli married actress
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' ( ...
on 7 June 2003 in
Washington, Virginia
The town of Washington, Virginia, is a historic village located in the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park. The entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, Wa ...
. On 8 February 2011, they announced that they were separating. Wilde filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court on 3 March 2011, citing "irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on 29 September 2011. Wilde did not seek spousal support, and the pair reached a private agreement on property division.
Since 2009, he has lived and worked in
Venice, Los Angeles
Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California.
Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...
, as a photographer and filmmaker.
Filmography
* ''Just Say Know'' (2002) Director, Cinematographer and Film editor
* ''This Film Needs No Title: A Portrait of Raymond Smullyan'' (2004) Director, Cinematographer and Film editor
* ''El Cable'' (2004) Director, Cinematographer, Editor and Film producer
* ''Flamenco: A Personal Journey'' (2005) Director, Cinematographer and Film producer
* ''Camjackers'' (2006) Whack Filmmaker No. 1 and also Film editor and Executive Producer
* ''
Fix'' (2008) Writer, Cinematographer, director, and Actor (as Milo)
* ''Behind the Wheel (film), Behind the Wheel'' (2008) Film director
* ''
Being in the World
''Being in the World'' is a 2010 documentary film directed by Tao Ruspoli. The film is based on Martin Heidegger's philosophy and is inspired by Hubert Dreyfus. It features a number of prominent philosophers.
Philosophers such as Hubert Dreyfus, ...
'' (2009) Film director
* ''Monogamish (film), Monogamish'' (2017) Film director
Recordings
* ''Flamenco'', (
Mapleshade, 2005)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruspoli, Tao
1975 births
Living people
American people of Austrian descent
American film directors of Italian descent
Tao
''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...
Italian untitled nobility
Tao Ruspoli
Tao Ruspoli (; born 7 November 1975) is an Italian-American filmmaker, photographer, musician, and co-founder of The Bombay Beach Biennale.
Early life
Ruspoli was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and raised in Rome, Italy and Los Angeles, California ...
University of California, Berkeley alumni
People from Venice, Los Angeles
Film directors from Los Angeles