Cinematographer

Alexandre Ottoveggio is a film director and cinematographer whose work bridges European and American traditions of storytelling. His films are known for their poetic imagery, emotional realism, and the way they explore human resilience and transformation.

He studied cinematography in the United States, where he deepened his understanding of light, movement, and composition. That training shaped his distinctive visual style—one that combines the precision of American film craft with the emotional depth and quiet beauty of European cinema.

As a director, Alexandre believes that light is not just a technical element, but a language of emotion. His films often unfold in natural landscapes and intimate human spaces, capturing moments of truth and vulnerability. Over the years, he has written and directed several award-winning short films, including Last Mile to Paradise and When It’s Not Your Time, both recognized at international festivals for their emotional power and visual grace. His other works include Another Day on Earth (black and white), Alien Activity, Fury Man, Until Dawn, Breaking Souls, and many others.

Whether he is directing or working behind the camera, Alexandre’s goal remains the same — to tell stories that move people, illuminate the human condition, and find beauty in what is real.

For Alexandre, cinematography is the soul of the story. He doesn’t see it as a technical exercise but as a living conversation between light, space, and emotion. When he walks onto a set, the first thing he notices isn’t where to put the camera — it’s where the light falls. He studies how it moves across a wall, how it fades on a face, how it changes the temperature of a moment. From that first impression, he builds the visual rhythm of the scene.

He often says that light tells the truth before words do. A shadow on a face can reveal a doubt that the character hasn’t spoken yet; a burst of sunlight through a window can carry more hope than any line of dialogue. Alexandre doesn’t force light to obey him — he follows it. If the sun breaks through at the right second, he lets it lead. If the sky turns gray, he finds the poetry in that.

When he works with actors, he uses light to create intimacy. He avoids the cold, flat look of over-lit scenes, preferring instead the texture of real light — the warmth of late afternoon, the pale tone of dawn, the flicker of candlelight that feels almost like breath. His camera moves gently, almost like it’s listening. Sometimes it stays still, holding space for something fragile to happen.

For Alexandre, the perfect image isn’t the one that looks beautiful — it’s the one that feels true. He often says that you can light a scene perfectly and still miss the soul of it. What matters to him is the moment when the audience forgets about the frame and starts to feel what the light is saying.

He has won many awards for Best Cinematography and Best Picture at international film festivals, a recognition of his sensitivity to image and atmosphere.
Alexandre’s approach to cinematography is very intimiste — quiet, emotional, and deeply connected to the space around his characters. He works with light like a painter, shaping the mood through what is barely seen as much as through what is illuminated.

He believes that every location carries its own rhythm and energy, and his work always begins by listening to that space — how the wind moves through it, how the light changes across the day, how silence fills it at night. From there, he builds the emotional landscape of the film.

The lighting in his films is never decorative. It breath