Stefano Da Frè is an Italian-Canadian

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, producer, and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He is the co-founder and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Rosso Films International. Da Frè is best known for directing,

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, dev ...

and executive producing the

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

'' Stolen Dough'' on

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

. Da Frè is also recognized for the documentaries ''The Girl Who Cannot Speak'' featured on NBC's Meet The Press Film Festival in collaboration with the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

and the

social activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

film ''The Day I Had to Grow Up''. His films have been screened at multiple

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

s including the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

and the

Chelsea Film Festival Chelsea Film Festival (CFF) is an international film festival and a non-profit organization based in New York which screens independent films from emerging and established directors. The festival offers a wide range of films, including documentar ...

in New York.

Early life and education

Born in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Da Frè initially received training from the Ryerson Theatre School before attending the

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of the Meisner ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

After graduating, Da Frè began his career with a role in ''

Taking Woodstock ''Taking Woodstock'' is a 2009 American historical musical comedy-drama film about the Woodstock Festival of 1969, directed by Ang Lee. The screenplay by James Schamus is based on the memoir '' Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert ...

'', a film directed by

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

, which premiered at the 2009

. Later that year, Da Frè appeared in ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''. Da Frè subsequently appeared in TV series including ''

Blue Bloods ''Blue Bloods'' is an American police procedural drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from September 24, 2010, to December 13, 2024, across 14 seasons and 293 episodes. Its main characters were members of the fi ...

'', ''One Bad Choice'', ''Pandora's Box: Unleashing Evil''. In 2009, Da Frè was elected as a member of the selection committee for the

Montreal International Film Festival The Montreal International Film Festival was an annual Canadian film festival, which took place in Montreal, Quebec from 1960 to 1967. In 2018, Da Frè's documentary, ''The Girl Who Cannot Speak'', debuted, exploring five women's sexual abuse narratives amidst the

MeToo movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...

. Later that year, it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and at the Meet The Press Film Festival in Washington, D.C., a festival co-hosted with the

. The film was also selected for screening at St. Louis International Film Festival and the Saguenay International Short Film Festival in 2019. In 2020, Da Frè directed and produced ''The Day I Had to Grow Up'', a documentary on U.S. youth activism addressing issues such as

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

and

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. The film was featured at the 2021 St. Louis International Film Festival and won the Jury Prize at Switzerland International Film Festival. The documentary also won the FFTG Spirit Award in 2021. In the same year, Da Frè co-directed another film titled ''The Moon in Deep Winter'' with Laura Pellegrini. Subsequently, the film was screened twice at the Cannes Film Festival. It also received the Best Screenplay Award at the Chelsea Film Festival in New York. In December 2022, Da Frè wrote and directed a feature film, ''Stolen Dough'', with Da Frè as executive producer and Laura Pellegrini as main producer. The film explores the battle between Italian-American inventor Anthony Mongiello and

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...

over the patent for

stuffed crust pizza Stuffed crust pizza is pizza with cheese (typically mozzarella) or other ingredients added into the outer edge of the crust. The stuffed crust pizza was popularized by Pizza Hut, which debuted this style of pizza in 1995. History Pizza Hut intr ...

. The documentary, which received the Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum Grant, is scheduled to air on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

in 2023. In July 2023, the documentary won the Best Documentary Award at the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. In July 2023, Da Frè advocated in support of the SAG-AFTRA union strike against AMPTP Producers. In October 2023, ''Stolen Dough'' screened at the DOC LA Los Angeles Film Festival for its California Premiere. Da Frè received an Honorable Mention Award in the feature film category of the festival. In November 2023, ''Stolen Dough'' screened as the opening night film at The North Film Festival in

. The festival ran from 15 November to 18 November. Da Frè won an award for Best Director in the feature film category at the festival. Later in November, ''Stolen Dough'' had its Scottish Premiere at the Grosvenor Picture Theatre in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. ''Stolen Doughs Scottish Premiere was part of its Gala series that included the film ''Bitter Taste'', directed by Harry Holland and starring

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

actor

Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...

, followed by Da Fre's ''Stolen Dough'' as the main feature film. In December 2023, Da Frè was awarded Best Documentary of the Film Festival, for ''Stolen Dough'', at the FFTG Awards.

premiered ''Stolen Dough'' on its international streaming platform in January 2024.

Personal life

On January 3, 2022, Broadway actress

Sierra Boggess Sierra Marjory Boggess (; born May 20, 1982) is an American actress, singer, and figure skater. She is best known for originating the role of Ariel in ''The Little Mermaid'' on Broadway, and for her multiple appearances as Christine Daaé in ' ...

announced her engagement to Da Frè. The couple were married at the Chateau Coindre Hall on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York on April 23, 2023.

Filmography

Film

*''

'' (2008) *''

Confidence Game A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibil ...

'' (2016) *''Tu Me Manques'' (2017) *''Sarah Q'' (2018) *''The Moon in Deep Winter'' (2018) *''The Girl Who Cannot Speak'' (2019) *''The Day I Had to Grow Up'' (2020) *'' Stolen Dough'' (2023)

Television

*''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2009) *''One Bad Choice'' (2015) *''Immunity'' (2016) *''Pandora's Box: Unleashing Evil'' (2016–2018) *'' That Damn Michael Che'' (2022), Season 2, Episode 4

Awards and recognition

* 2018: Best Screenplay Award for ''The Moon in Deep Winter'' at the

* 2021: FFTG Spirit Award for ''The Day I Had To Grow Up'' * 2023: Best Documentary Award for ''Stolen Dough'' at the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival * 2023: Honorable Mention Award for ''Stolen Dough'' at DOC LA Los Angeles Film Festival * 2023: Best Director Award for ''Stolen Dough'' at The North Film Festival * 2023: “Best Documentary Film of the Fest” Award for ''Stolen Dough'' at the FFTG Awards Film Fest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Da Fre, Stefano Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people