Raffaello Degruttola

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. It opens worldwide on November 10th 2020.