Giovanni Morassutti


Giovanni Enrico Morassutti is an Italian actor, theatre director, writer,artist and cultural entrepreneur. He is a graduate of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and long time student and collaborator of John Strasberg. Since 2001 he has appeared in more than 20 films including independent films, prime time tv and international films. As a stage actor and director he has worked in plays presented in theaters like the Cherry Lane, the Gene Frankel Theatre and La MaMa among others.

Life and career

Son of a German mother and Italian father he began to study acting and directing in his hometown when he was a teenager during a workshop with Susan Strasberg. At 18 years old he moved to New York City to study in deep the work of the realistic school of acting. First he started as an intern at the Actors Studio, auditing and observing the sessions for one year and eventually becoming a student of Salem Ludwig at the HB studio. In 2001 he met John Strasberg, son of Lee Strasberg, with whom he has been studying and collaborating as a coordinator for his workshops in Italy and lately also in Berlin. He wrote the preface of the Italian version of Strasberg´s book Accidentally on purpose published by in 2016. While living and studying in America, Giovanni worked as an actor in several productions directed by Ellen Stewart, founder of La Mama e.t.c., Ted Mornel, Kathleen M. Wilce, and Gus Van Sant. In 2004 he returned to Italy where, after graduating from the National Film School in Rome directed by actor Giancarlo Giannini, he was cast in several roles in theatre, film, and television. As a Theatre director he has been directing Sola in casa by Dino Buzzati starring Lydia Biondi and presented at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 2012 and Madre sin Panuelo by Jorge Palant sponsored by the Argentian Embassy and presented in Rome and Milan in the fall of 2015. In 2016 he moved to Berlin where he was cast in For the time being directed by Daniela Lucato that was presented at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Morassutti is also a contributing artist of the Transversal Theater Company having performed both male leads in Railroad, winner of the Tor Vergata Award at the 28th Annual Festival Internazionale del Teatro Patologico directed by Dario D'Ambrosi in 2020.

Cultural entrepreneurship and artistic practice

Giovanni Morassutti is the founder and artistic director of Art Aia - Creatives / In / Residence which is an international art residency promoting artistic production and research that focuses on the development of the creative process and facilitates cultural exchange across borders. In the past few years he invited to work at the residency international teaching artists like John Strasberg and Italo-Palestinian artist who thought a photography masterclass in 2014. He also hosted several artist collectives like Marsala 11 and the Institut für Alles Mögliche of Berlin among others supporting them in the development of their work with exhibitions and open studios. In 2016 Giovanni Morassutti founded in Berlin, Art Aia-La Dolce Berlin, which is a project space that shares many crossovers with the Italian headquarters including a facilitation of cultural activities and an interest in cultural research and artistic experimentation. Several artists and artist collectives have been hosted in the Berlin affiliation space including Wyatt Mills, Roger Thorp and Kaoru Shibuta. Giovanni Morassutti is also an experimental visual artist. While in Berlin he realized a collection of artworks pairing wine with contemporary art.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Actor

Selected artworks