Elena Rossini | Italian film director, editor & diversity advocate

THE ILLUSIONISTS

Elena Rossini’s most notable film is the documentary The Illusionists, about the globalization of beauty ideals and the dark side of advertising. Rossini shot it in eight countries, across four continents.

The Illusionists features interviews with feminist icons such as Jean Kilbourne (Killing Us Softly), Susie Orbach (Fat Is a Feminist Issue) and Laura Mulvey (who coined the term “the male gaze”). Filmmaker Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) said: “The Illusionists should be required viewing in every school.”

The documentary has been featured in Vogue Italy, New York Magazine, NPR, FOX and NBC Baltimore, amongst others. It has been praised by universities and non-profits for its educational benefits.

1.1 BILLION VIEWS ON GIPHY.com

Elena Rossini has been on a mission to promote the visibility of women and minority filmmakers. As a verified artist on GIPHY, Rossini has been populating the internet with 7-second GIFs of female directors and cinematographers – now totaling over 200. The project has made headlines on sites like Mashable and the Huffington Post.

In 2018 Rossini started a second GIPHY channel: she has created hundreds of GIFs that celebrate the visibility of women and minorities across professional fields (authors, scientists, CEOs, engineers…). The channel also features Instagram stickers with empowering messages. As of May 2020, these GIFs and stickers have been viewed and used more than 1 billion times.

Freelance Filmmaker

Elena Rossini works as a freelance filmmaker in various positions (director, producer, editor, motion graphics designer and local fixer in France and Italy). She is currently producing the follow-up to her critically acclaimed documentary The Illusionists titled The Realists.