Rosa Colosimo

Rosa Colosimo (born 1949) is an Australian film producer.

Colosimo was born in Calabria, Italy, and moved to Melbourne, Australia with her family in 1951, where her parents ran a greengrocer's shop. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Melbourne University along with a Diploma of Education and began teaching Italian. She owned the only Italian book shop in the Southern hemisphere and became quite successful.

Colosimo became involved in the film industry by distributing Italian films for Australia in the early 80s before turning producer.

She was one of the most prolific film producers in Australia in the late 80s despite a lack of support from the funding bodies - all of her movies were made with private money. She was accused of using Mafia money on by someone on the board of Film Victoria, which Colosimo denied. She pioneered co-production with Italy.

Most of her movies concerned the Italian Australian community in Melbourne. Colosimo:

Producing is constantly stimulating. One of the most satisfying things about it is that while it is demanding, exhausting and tedious, it is ultimately achievable. I really do get excited by the potential of a story or a script. A project constantly shifts for me. I never get bored. It suits me to be in a work environment which is very intense and then to have space for myself in between.

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