Director, screenwriter, and multimedia artist, Jacopo Rondinelli began his artistic journey in the 1990s, working on film productions such as “Nirvana” (by Gabriele Salvatores) and “Metalmeccanico e parrucchiera” (by Lina Wertmüller), as well as commercials and advertising campaigns, where he designed and created props, sets, and various special effects. Alongside this, he worked as an interior designer, collaborating with companies like Alessi and Invicta.
From a young age, he cultivated a strong passion for music, which led him in 2002 to found the musical collective Jetlag. In 2004, they released an album with Sony Music, for which he wrote lyrics and music alongside artists such as Giorgia, Max Gazzè, Amanda Lear, Martina Topley Bird, Raf, Samuele Bersani, Bluvertigo, and many others.This experience brought him into direct contact with the world of video installations (he was the artistic director of several projects for Nokia), until in 2007 he decided to pursue directing, creating music videos for top Italian and international artists (including Tiziano Ferro, Marracash, Salmo, Eros Ramazzotti, The Bloody Beetroots), winning numerous awards and recognitions that led to exhibitions dedicated to his work, including a retrospective at the Pesaro Film Festival.
Since 2010, he has directed and produced advertising campaigns for brands such as Lavazza, Nestlè, Renault, Gatorade, Red Bull, Stroili Oro, IGI&CO, and Freddy; as well as documentaries—including Prog Revolution (presented at the Trieste Film Festival) and La Giostra dei Giganti (presented at the Rome Film Festival)—for networks like MTV Europe and Sky Arte HD.
His cinematic style and storytelling ability naturally drew him toward the world of film. In 2018, his first feature film Ride, produced by Lucky Red, was released in Italian cinemas. Film critic Gianni Canova wrote: “There is more experimentation and research here than in all the Italian cinema seen in Venice,” calling it “a small miracle of audacity, boldness, and passion.” Il Messaggero described it as “The future of the seventh art,” and Screenweek called it “A perfectly successful experiment, ready to set new cinematic rules.” Ride was distributed worldwide by True Colours, with releases in the USA, Canada, China, India, Germany, South Korea, and Japan, as well as digital releases on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime globally. On Netflix Italy, the film ranked in the top 10 for the first two weeks after release.
Ride was featured at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Noir in Festival, and Festival dello Sport. The film also inspired a comic book published by La Gazzetta dello Sport, a novel titled “Ride: Il Gioco Del Custode” (published by Mondadori), and a board game titled “Ride: Gioca o Muori” (produced by Pendragon Game Studio).
After Ride, he wrote several screenplays for films and TV series, including “Upstairs”, acquired by Lucky Red and currently in development. In March 2025, his second feature film, PROPHECY, was released in cinemas as a special event, produced by Brandon Box and distributed by Nexo Digital.
Movieplayer wrote: “There’s no doubt that Rondinelli knows how to direct, giving the project a strong pop flair, making it sharp, enjoyable, and accessible.”
According to MyMovies, the film is “A lively action comedy that entertains effectively, with an excellent cast performance.”
PROPHECY will soon be available on a major streaming platform. According to several outlets, including Vice Magazine, Jacopo Rondinelli is one of the Italian directors contributing to what is being called the rebirth of new Italian cinema.