Tao Ruspoli
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| Tao Ruspoli | |
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| Born | November 7, 1975  Bangkok, Thailand |
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| Residence | Venice, California |
| Nationality | Italy and US |
| Occupation | filmmaker, photographer, and musician |
| Spouse | Olivia Wilde (June 7, 2003-present) |
Tao Ruspoli (born November 7, 1975) is an Italian-American filmmaker, photographer, and musician. He is the eldest son of occasional actor and aristocrat Prince Alessandro Ruspoli, 9th Prince of Cerveteri by American actress Debra Berger and older brother of Bartolomeo Ruspoli (born October 6, 1978 in Rome), second husband of Aileen Getty and who appeared as Himself in his brother's film Just Say Know (2002).
Tao was born in Bangkok, Thailand and raised in Rome and Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. His most well-known piece is the documentary Just Say Know, a personal discussion of his family's drug addiction. His feature narrative debut, Fix, was one of 10 feature films to screen in competition at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival and soon afterward at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival where Ruspoli was awarded the Heineken Red Star award for "most innovative and progressive filmmaker." FIX also won the best feature film prizes at the 2008 Vail Film Festival and the 2008 Twin Rivers Media Festival.
His other films include Flamenco: A Personal Journey, a feature length documentary about the flamenco way of life as it is lived by Gypsies 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 renowned logician, mathematician and concert pianist Raymond Smullyan).
Tao founded LAFCO in 2000. The Los Angeles Filmmakers Cooperative, is a bohemian collective of filmmakers and musicians who work out of a converted school bus. Through LAFCO, Tao has produced several films and helped dozens of filmmakers to make their first films and discover the wonders of digital media.
His producing credits include the feature film Camjackers, which he also acted in and co-edited. Camjackers won the best editing award at the 44th Ann Arbor Film Festival.
Tao is an accomplished flamenco guitar player, and his first CD, Flamenco, was released on Mapleshade Records in 2005.
He married actress Olivia Wilde on June 7, 2003 in Washington, Rappahannock County, Virginia. He currently lives and works in Venice, California.
[edit] Filmography
- Fix (2008) - Director, Cinematographer, Actor and Writer
- Camjackers (2006) - Editor, Executive Producer and Actor
- Flamenco: A Personal Journey (2005) - Director, Cinematographer and Producer
- El Cable (2004) - Director, Cinematographer, Editor and Producer
- This Film Needs No Title: A Portrait of Raymond Smullyan (2004) - Director, Cinematographer and Editor
- Just Say Know (2002) - Director, Cinematographer and Editor
- Tango, no me dejes nunca (1998) - Camera Apprentice (as Teo Rispoli)
- Bullworth (1998) - Art Department Assistant
- Jack (1996) - Production Assistant
[edit] Recordings
- Flamenco, Mapleshade Records, 2005
