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Rossella Schillaci

Nova University of Lisbon - Portugal, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Post-Doc

University Institute of European Studies (IUSE), Turin, Italy, Culture and society, Graduate Student

The University of Texas at Austin, Anthropology, Post-Doc

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Rossella Schillaci graduated with a Master's degree in Visual Anthropology at the University of Manchester. She directed documentary films for ARTE, RAI, Sky and Al Jazeera. Her last documentary films have been awarded in many international film festivals (www.azulfilm.com).Her last project in post-production is a VR experimental film selected by Venice Biennale College and Venice Market and financed by Creative Europe Media and Italian and Portuguese Minister of Culture.She is aPhD candidate in Digital Media at the University Nova of Lisbon, in collaboration with The University of Texas at Austin, with practice-based research in new media and visual anthropology. She works at iNOVA Media Lab research centre, is a member of NECS (European Network for Cinema and Media Studies), EASA (European Association of Social Anthropologists) and BAFTSS. She teaches visual anthropology, documentary and immersive cinema in university seminars.

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Papers by Rossella Schillaci

Immersi nel Futuro

Exhibition of a VR Experimental Documentary

Interactive film and media journal, May 25, 2022

Raccontare una maternità diversa

A Family Cell: Visual Ethnography in a Prison ‘Mothers’ Section’

The Prison Cell, 2020

This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to i... more This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to interrogate the suitability of cell life for children. Findings suggest that mothers must overcome difficult obstacles in raising their children within the prison environment and both mothers and children adopt different stategies of resilience to transform prison life into &#39;playtime&#39;. They develop several approaches to use the cell as a space to build intimate relationships but rarely attempt to build attachments to the prison cell as a &#39;home&#39;. Instead, all long-term emotional and material connections to this &#39;cursed&#39; space are deliberately avoided. Exploration of this case study raises questions about the function of the prison cell and its role as a space for building relationships for every prisoner. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

A Collaborative Filming Method with Characters and Crew

Anthrovision, 2019

Between Inside and Outside: Projects of Visual Research inside Italian Prisons

Visual Anthropology, 2017

This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that ar... more This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that are located in two Italian cities. The aim of the article is to discuss how the use of a video camera as a research tool can influence the research context in a situation openly and deeply marked by impotence and disempowerment. Our argument is that besides giving the inmates an instrument to communicate beyond the prison, the use of visual media exacerbates specific aspects that according to the existing literature often occur when doing fieldwork in confinement spaces.

Trailers of documentary films on www.azulfilm.com

http://www.azulfilm.com/libere/ http://www.azulfilm.com/imprisoned-lullaby/ http://www.azulfilm... more

Journal articles by Rossella Schillaci

Telling a Different Motherhood

g/s/i GENDER/SEXUALITY/ITALY, 2019

In this article, Schillaci writes about the making of the documentary film Ninna nanna prigionier... more In this article, Schillaci writes about the making of the documentary film Ninna nanna prigioniera (2016), filmed inside a special block within Turin, Italy’s jail, where convicted mothers can choose to have their children living with them in a cell until they are three years old. The filmmaker retraces the various stages of the project, from conception to pre-production and filming. She describes research questions, themes at the heart of the film’s story, and points of view adopted in its direction, as well as her relationship with the protagonists and with the prison system itself.

Between Inside and Outside: Projects of Visual Research inside Italian Prisons

by Rossella Schillaci and Valentina Bonifacio

Visual Anthropology, 2017

This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that ar... more This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that are located in two Italian cities. The aim of the article is to discuss how the use of a video camera as a research tool can influence the research context in a situation openly and deeply marked by impotence and disempowerment. Our argument is that besides giving the inmates an instrument to communicate beyond the prison, the use of visual media exacerbates specific aspects that according to the existing literature often occur when doing fieldwork in confinement spaces.

Edited Journal Issue by Rossella Schillaci

A Collaborative Filming Method with Characters and Crew. Reflection on the Making of the Short Documentary Film Ghetto PSA

Anthrovision Vaneasa Online Journal, 2019

This article aims to reflect on the challenges of participatory film projects. The text analyses ... more This article aims to reflect on the challenges of participatory film projects. The text analyses the method applied in the making of the short film Ghetto PSA. The main character is Jacob, a young man who arrived alone in Italy from French Guinea when he was 11 years old. He had lost his parents in Guinea. Today he is 27, hip hop music is his world, his personal outlet for expressing dreams, hopes and frustrations, and to no longer feel part of the 'ghetto'.

The collaborative practice with the main character of the film is analysed focusing on the different stages of production, from fieldwork, to writing and shooting. The text also analyses the influence and relation of the different figures connected to a film production, such as the producer, the characters and the crew. The article will discuss how a process of negotiation was inevitable, embracing a participative approach that brought the project into the territories of ethnofiction. This process is especially evident in the creation of an agreed scenario, which refers to the improvised and open outline of main scenes and actions (canovaccio) used in the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. This kind of ‘open’ scenario contributed, in my opinion, to achieve a ‘transcultural’ dialogue, fundamental for anthropological film-works, and also to help foster an epistemological disobedience.

"Critical Encounters: the European Refugee Crisis" - Special Issue in collaboration with Ethnofest

by Alexandra D'Onofrio, Rossella Schillaci, Christos Varvantakis, Pafsanias Karathanasis, Katerina Rozakou, and Anna Knappe

Journal of Anthropological Film Vol 3 No 02, 2019

Editorial co-authored by: Christos Varvantakis, Katerina Rozakou, Ifigeneia Anastasiadi, Pafsania... more Editorial co-authored by: Christos Varvantakis, Katerina Rozakou, Ifigeneia Anastasiadi, Pafsanias Karathanasis, Kostantinos Aivaliotis

Films:
- Shukri, a new Life, by Rossella Schillaci
- Document: Hoyerswerda | Frontex, by Thomas Kaske
- It Was Tomorrow, by Alexandra Maria D'Onofrio
- Quiet Life, by Tasos Giapoutzis, Marios Kleftakis
- Unimaginable Dreams, by Marzia Jamili, Brittany Nugent, Dove Barbanel
- When You Are In The Sea: where can you hide?, by Jack Jones, Ann-Kathrine Kvaernoe
- Underground: A filmic exploration of "migrant illegality" in Copenhagen, by Julie Høj Thomsen
- A Camp is a Wall in a Forest, by Anna Knappe, Amir Jan

Link: https://boap.uib.no/index.php/jaf/issue/view/374

Books by Rossella Schillaci

Non-Fiction all'interno del libro Immersi nel Futuro

Palermo University Press, 2020

La Realtà virtuale, nuova frontiera del cinema e della TV

A Family Cell: Visual Ethnography in a Prison 'Mothers' Section'

Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020

This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to i... more This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to interrogate the suitability of cell life for children. Findings suggest that mothers must overcome difficult obstacles in raising their children within the prison environment and both mothers and children adopt different stategies of resilience to transform prison life into 'playtime'. They develop several approaches to use the cell as a space to build intimate relationships but rarely attempt to build attachments to the prison cell as a 'home'. Instead, all long-term emotional and material connections to this 'cursed' space are deliberately avoided. Exploration of this case study raises questions about the function of the prison cell and its role as a space for building relationships for every prisoner. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Immersi nel Futuro

Exhibition of a VR Experimental Documentary

Interactive film and media journal, May 25, 2022

Raccontare una maternità diversa

A Family Cell: Visual Ethnography in a Prison ‘Mothers’ Section’

The Prison Cell, 2020

This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to i... more This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to interrogate the suitability of cell life for children. Findings suggest that mothers must overcome difficult obstacles in raising their children within the prison environment and both mothers and children adopt different stategies of resilience to transform prison life into &#39;playtime&#39;. They develop several approaches to use the cell as a space to build intimate relationships but rarely attempt to build attachments to the prison cell as a &#39;home&#39;. Instead, all long-term emotional and material connections to this &#39;cursed&#39; space are deliberately avoided. Exploration of this case study raises questions about the function of the prison cell and its role as a space for building relationships for every prisoner. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

A Collaborative Filming Method with Characters and Crew

Anthrovision, 2019

Between Inside and Outside: Projects of Visual Research inside Italian Prisons

Visual Anthropology, 2017

This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that ar... more This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that are located in two Italian cities. The aim of the article is to discuss how the use of a video camera as a research tool can influence the research context in a situation openly and deeply marked by impotence and disempowerment. Our argument is that besides giving the inmates an instrument to communicate beyond the prison, the use of visual media exacerbates specific aspects that according to the existing literature often occur when doing fieldwork in confinement spaces.

Trailers of documentary films on www.azulfilm.com

http://www.azulfilm.com/libere/ http://www.azulfilm.com/imprisoned-lullaby/ http://www.azulfilm... more

Telling a Different Motherhood

g/s/i GENDER/SEXUALITY/ITALY, 2019

In this article, Schillaci writes about the making of the documentary film Ninna nanna prigionier... more In this article, Schillaci writes about the making of the documentary film Ninna nanna prigioniera (2016), filmed inside a special block within Turin, Italy’s jail, where convicted mothers can choose to have their children living with them in a cell until they are three years old. The filmmaker retraces the various stages of the project, from conception to pre-production and filming. She describes research questions, themes at the heart of the film’s story, and points of view adopted in its direction, as well as her relationship with the protagonists and with the prison system itself.

Between Inside and Outside: Projects of Visual Research inside Italian Prisons

by Rossella Schillaci and Valentina Bonifacio

Visual Anthropology, 2017

This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that ar... more This article presents two separate experiences in doing research inside detention centers that are located in two Italian cities. The aim of the article is to discuss how the use of a video camera as a research tool can influence the research context in a situation openly and deeply marked by impotence and disempowerment. Our argument is that besides giving the inmates an instrument to communicate beyond the prison, the use of visual media exacerbates specific aspects that according to the existing literature often occur when doing fieldwork in confinement spaces.

A Collaborative Filming Method with Characters and Crew. Reflection on the Making of the Short Documentary Film Ghetto PSA

Anthrovision Vaneasa Online Journal, 2019

This article aims to reflect on the challenges of participatory film projects. The text analyses ... more This article aims to reflect on the challenges of participatory film projects. The text analyses the method applied in the making of the short film Ghetto PSA. The main character is Jacob, a young man who arrived alone in Italy from French Guinea when he was 11 years old. He had lost his parents in Guinea. Today he is 27, hip hop music is his world, his personal outlet for expressing dreams, hopes and frustrations, and to no longer feel part of the 'ghetto'.

The collaborative practice with the main character of the film is analysed focusing on the different stages of production, from fieldwork, to writing and shooting. The text also analyses the influence and relation of the different figures connected to a film production, such as the producer, the characters and the crew. The article will discuss how a process of negotiation was inevitable, embracing a participative approach that brought the project into the territories of ethnofiction. This process is especially evident in the creation of an agreed scenario, which refers to the improvised and open outline of main scenes and actions (canovaccio) used in the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. This kind of ‘open’ scenario contributed, in my opinion, to achieve a ‘transcultural’ dialogue, fundamental for anthropological film-works, and also to help foster an epistemological disobedience.

"Critical Encounters: the European Refugee Crisis" - Special Issue in collaboration with Ethnofest

by Alexandra D'Onofrio, Rossella Schillaci, Christos Varvantakis, Pafsanias Karathanasis, Katerina Rozakou, and Anna Knappe

Journal of Anthropological Film Vol 3 No 02, 2019

Editorial co-authored by: Christos Varvantakis, Katerina Rozakou, Ifigeneia Anastasiadi, Pafsania... more Editorial co-authored by: Christos Varvantakis, Katerina Rozakou, Ifigeneia Anastasiadi, Pafsanias Karathanasis, Kostantinos Aivaliotis

Films:
- Shukri, a new Life, by Rossella Schillaci
- Document: Hoyerswerda | Frontex, by Thomas Kaske
- It Was Tomorrow, by Alexandra Maria D'Onofrio
- Quiet Life, by Tasos Giapoutzis, Marios Kleftakis
- Unimaginable Dreams, by Marzia Jamili, Brittany Nugent, Dove Barbanel
- When You Are In The Sea: where can you hide?, by Jack Jones, Ann-Kathrine Kvaernoe
- Underground: A filmic exploration of "migrant illegality" in Copenhagen, by Julie Høj Thomsen
- A Camp is a Wall in a Forest, by Anna Knappe, Amir Jan

Link: https://boap.uib.no/index.php/jaf/issue/view/374

Non-Fiction all'interno del libro Immersi nel Futuro

Palermo University Press, 2020

La Realtà virtuale, nuova frontiera del cinema e della TV

A Family Cell: Visual Ethnography in a Prison 'Mothers' Section'

Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020

This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to i... more This chapter draws upon research produced as part of the documentary film Imprisoned Lullaby to interrogate the suitability of cell life for children. Findings suggest that mothers must overcome difficult obstacles in raising their children within the prison environment and both mothers and children adopt different stategies of resilience to transform prison life into 'playtime'. They develop several approaches to use the cell as a space to build intimate relationships but rarely attempt to build attachments to the prison cell as a 'home'. Instead, all long-term emotional and material connections to this 'cursed' space are deliberately avoided. Exploration of this case study raises questions about the function of the prison cell and its role as a space for building relationships for every prisoner. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.