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Tao Ruspoli
Italian and American filmmaker and actor (born 1975) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tao dei Principi Ruspoli (/ˈrʊspoʊli/ RUU-spoh-lee; born 7 November 1975) is an Italian and American filmmaker, photographer, musician, and founder. He is best known for his philosophical documentaries Being in the World (2010) and Monogamish (2017), and as co-founder of the Bombay Beach Biennale.
Ruspoli's work bridges personal narrative with philosophical inquiry, drawing heavily from his education under phenomenologist Hubert Dreyfus at University of California, Berkeley. His documentaries have been praised for their integration of existential phenomenology with contemporary cultural analysis, screening at major festivals and receiving critical acclaim. Since 2016, he has focused increasingly on community-based cultural projects in California's Salton Sea region, establishing The Bombay Beach Institute as well as permanent art installations and research programs that address environmental and social issues through creative intervention.
Currently based between Joshua Tree and Bombay Beach, California, Ruspoli works in filmmaking, podcasting, and cultural institution development, while serving as chairman of the Bombay Beach Institute and co-hosting the Being in the World podcast with neuroscientist Patrick House.
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Early life and education
Ruspoli was born in Bangkok, Thailand, on 7 November 1975, and raised between Rome, Italy and Los Angeles, California. He is the second son of occasional actor and aristocrat Alessandro Ruspoli, 9th Prince of Cerveteri (known as "Dado") and Austrian-American actress Debra Berger.[1]
Ruspoli graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1993. He subsequently enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1998. At Berkeley, he studied under Hubert Dreyfus, whose teachings on Martin Heidegger's concept of being-in-the-world influenced his artistic development and philosophical approach to filmmaking.[2]
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Career
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Early work and LAFCO (2000–2008)
In 2000, Ruspoli founded the Los Angeles Filmmakers Cooperative (LAFCO), an experimental collective of filmmakers and musicians operating from a converted school bus in Venice, California. LAFCO embodied principles of collaborative artistic practice and nomadic cultural production that would characterize much of Ruspoli's later work.[3]
Through LAFCO, Ruspoli produced several early documentary works. Just Say Know (2002) offered an intimate exploration of familial addiction, examining his family's struggles with substance abuse through both personal testimony and broader cultural analysis. This Film Needs No Title: A Portrait of Raymond Smullyan (2004) documented the mathematician and philosopher Raymond Smullyan.[3]
El Cable (2004) and Behind the Wheel (2008) continued his documentation of subcultures and alternative communities. Flamenco: A Personal Journey (2005) documents the flamenco tradition among the Gitanos in southern Spain while Ruspoli studied guitar with master musicians. The film coincided with his flamenco album released on Mapleshade Records.[4]
LAFCO also produced Camjackers (2006), a collaborative narrative film in which Ruspoli served as co-editor, actor, and executive producer. The film won the Editing Award at the 44th Ann Arbor Film Festival.[3]
Narrative and documentary features (2008–2017)
Ruspoli's narrative debut, Fix (2008), premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and won the Heineken Red Star Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.[5] The film also secured Best Film awards at the Brooklyn Film Festival, the Vail Film Festival, and the Twin Rivers Media Festival.
Critics praised Fix for its authentic portrayal of Los Angeles creative communities and its energetic filmmaking style, though some noted uneven thematic development.[5][6] The New York Times noted the film's "rough-hewn charm" while acknowledging its structural challenges.[7] Variety praised its authenticity and setting while noting narrative inconsistencies.[8]
Being in the World (2010) marked Ruspoli's most significant critical and academic success, examining Martin Heidegger's concept of being-in-the-world through his mentor Hubert Dreyfus's teachings. The documentary interweaves interviews with philosophers, craftspeople, musicians, and chefs to explore how skilled practitioners embody knowledge through practice rather than abstract theory. The film features Dreyfus, Mark Wrathall, Sean Kelly, Taylor Carman, John Haugeland, Iain Thomson, Charles Taylor, and Albert Borgmann, alongside master practitioners including chef Leah Chase, Japanese carpenter Hiroshi Sakaguchi, flamenco guitarist Manuel Molina, and jazz pianist Austin Peralta.
The documentary won the Audience Award for Documentary Feature at the Brooklyn International Film Festival and received widespread critical acclaim.[9] Spirituality & Practice called it "bright and thought-provoking," noting its successful integration of philosophical concepts with accessible storytelling.[10] The film has been adopted by philosophy departments at numerous universities as a teaching tool.[11]
Between 2012 and 2014, Ruspoli served as producer on Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary, directed by Gay Dillingham. The feature documentary traces the complex relationship between spiritual teacher Ram Dass and psychologist Timothy Leary, examining their influence on 1960s counterculture and their divergent paths in later life. Narrated by Robert Redford, the film screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival and received a limited U.S. theatrical release in 2015, with a review in The Hollywood Reporter.[12]
Ruspoli's documentary Monogamish (2017) explores contemporary attitudes toward monogamy, marriage, and alternative relationship structures. Following his divorce from actress Olivia Wilde (who is not named in the film), Ruspoli used his personal experience as a lens to examine broader cultural shifts in romantic relationships and sexual norms. The film interweaves his personal narrative with interviews including sex columnist Dan Savage (who coined the term "monogamish"), psychotherapist Esther Perel, evolutionary psychologist Christopher Ryan, historian Stephanie Coontz, and attorney Diana Adams.
Co-written with philosopher Mark Wrathall, Monogamish premiered at the Rome Film Festival in 2015, screened at the Austin Film Festival in 2016, and received theatrical release in the United States through Abramorama in October 2017. Film Inquiry described it as "an unexpectedly robust, eye-opening take on the history, as well as the contemporary state of marriage, love, and sexuality," while IndieWire called it "fascinating and stylish."[13][14] Film Threat praised it as "an intelligent meditative film regardless of your stance on monogamy," and the film maintains an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[15][16]
Bombay Beach projects (2016–present)
In 2016, Ruspoli co-founded the Bombay Beach Biennale with Stefan Ashkenazy and Lily Johnson White. Conceived as both commentary on the contemporary art world and response to the environmental crisis of the Salton Sea, the free, non-commercial event combines site-specific installations, experimental performances, and academic philosophy conferences in the post-apocalyptic landscape of Bombay Beach, California.[17][18]
The Biennale has established permanent cultural infrastructure, including an outdoor opera house, drive-in theater, and multiple artist residency spaces. Major art installations include works by internationally recognized artists, creating a permanent outdoor museum in the desert landscape. The event shifted to a biennial format in 2024.[19]
Building on the Biennale's success, Ruspoli co-founded the Bombay Beach Institute for Industrial Espionage & Post-Apocalyptic Studies with filmmaker and partner Dulcinée DeGuere, serving as chairman of the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Institute operates as a cultural laboratory and think tank, managing artist residencies, research programs, and maintaining significant cultural sites including the Poetry House, Museum of Bombay Beach, and various experimental architecture projects.[20]
Recent work and multimedia projects
Since 2020, Ruspoli has co-hosted the Being in the World podcast with neuroscientist and writer Patrick House. The podcast explores intersections of philosophy, cognitive science, consciousness studies, and artistic practice through in-depth conversations with thinkers, artists, and scientists.[21] Episodes have featured discussions on topics ranging from artificial intelligence and mental health to narrative structure and environmental philosophy.
His current filmmaking project, The Dulcinée Dialectic (in post-production), explores mental health, consciousness, and artificial intelligence through parallel conversations with his partner Dulcinée DeGuere and an AI system. The film examines questions of creativity, authenticity, and human-machine interaction through intimate documentation of personal experience combined with philosophical analysis, continuing themes present throughout his career while addressing contemporary technological concerns.
In May 2024, Ruspoli delivered the commencement address at University of California, Berkeley's Philosophy Department, reflecting on his studies with Hubert Dreyfus and the ongoing influence of philosophical inquiry on his artistic practice.[22]
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Personal life
Ruspoli married actress Olivia Wilde on 16 January 2003 in Venice, California.[23] They separated in February 2011 and divorced in September of the same year, with Ruspoli later exploring themes of relationship structures and social expectations in his documentary Monogamish.[24]
Since 2020, Ruspoli has been in a relationship with filmmaker and artist Dulcinée DeGuere, with whom he collaborates extensively on creative projects and cultural institution development. Their partnership has been central to the expansion of the Bombay Beach Institute and the development of several multimedia projects, including The Dulcinée Dialectic and the High Desert Protocol hospitality venture.[20]
He currently divides his time between Joshua Tree, California, Bombay Beach, California, and Italy.[25][26]
Philosophy and artistic approach
Ruspoli's artistic practice is fundamentally grounded in existential phenomenology, particularly the teachings of Hubert Dreyfus and the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. His approach to filmmaking prioritizes embodied knowledge and authentic experience over abstract theorizing, reflecting Heideggerian concepts of being-in-the-world and skilled practical engagement with environments and communities.[2]
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Awards and recognition
Filmography
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Discography
- Flamenco (2005) – Mapleshade Records
References
External links
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