Sue Stockdale talks to Elena Rossini, an Italian artist, writer and activist who uses creativity to improve representation. Elena describes why she feels compelled to work on issues of social justice, media representation, and the empowerment of women and girls.

Her most notable project is the critically acclaimed documentary The Illusionists, about the globalisation of beauty ideals, which Rossini shot in eight countries, across four continents. The film has been featured in Vogue Italy, New York Magazine, NPR, FOX and NBC Baltimore, amongst others.

Rossini is the creator of hundreds of GIFs depicting professional women – which have dominated GIF search results, accruing 1.6 billion views. She is also the creator of the multimedia platform No Country for Young Women, which showcases over 120 interviews with inspiring women representing five continents, seven decades and over two dozen professions.

Most recently, Elena is working on another documentary, The Realists - about the dark side of Big Tech.

She lives in Paris, France with her husband and daughter.
Find out more about Elena Rossini at https://elenarossini.com

Key Quotes:

‘All my projects use creativity for social good.’

‘The film The Illusionists came out in 2015, and my distributor tell me that it's been a top seller every single quarter since then.’

‘Women write to me and say how the film has impacted them and how now they see advertising in a completely different way ever since watching it.’

‘Curiosity is one of the most important things that any creative could have.’

‘I try to hone observation and curiosity and live as much as I can in the real world, away from screens and algorithmic recommendations.’

‘I’ve always made it a point every day to find something new that gives me a sense of wonder and awe.’

‘I want to show people examples of individuals that are using technology in a mindful way, but they're not being used by it.’

‘When you look up all the animated GIFs of cinematographers, they’re mine, and they're all women.’

‘Up until now, I've been completely invisible in all the projects that I do. I've always wanted the projects to speak for themselves.’

‘I love that film and photography can almost act like time machines, they can crystallise a moment.’

‘I don't think that there are many visible examples out there that show a working female artist, who's a mother.’

‘I think it's incredibly powerful and cathartic to turn frustrations into opportunities for creativity.’

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. Find out more at https://squadcast.fm

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Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)