NYWIFT Blog

By Eve Austin

Welcome to NYWIFT, Aurora Caruso!

Italian-Belgian artist and former journalist and production assistant Aurora Caruso works with video to explore the relationship between reality and art. After several years in the Italian film industry, she is currently studying Communication and Art & Design at John Cabot University, an American university in Rome.

Driven by her passion for cinema, she moved to New York to continue her studies at The New School and has just returned to Italy after a semester there, with the goal of finding work in the United States.

 She aims to become a director, and her work is shaped by innovation, curiosity, and critical thinking.

What brings you to NYWIFT?

Before moving to New York, I was a member of WIFTMI Italia (Women in Film, Television & Media Italia). When I first approached the Italian film industry at a very young age, I was surrounded almost exclusively by men, which led me to assume that cinema was a predominantly male field. This belief deeply limited me, both artistically and professionally.

After years in the film industry, discovering NYWIFT made me realize that statistics ultimately matter less than personal perception. WIFTMI Italia and NYWIFT New York are two realities that, together, profoundly reshaped my personal vision of the film industry, allowing me to feel freer both creatively and professionally.

What projects have you worked on in the past, and where has your work been exhibited?

In 2025, I created a film that was exhibited at a digital art gallery in Rome called LIMINAL SPACE. The project was titled Siamo una strada aperta (“We Are an Open Road”) and focused on the state of loop experienced by residents of a peripheral neighborhood in Rome following the closure of the area’s only public space.

It was a very personal project that aimed to highlight a broader issue affecting large cities: the tendency to forget certain areas, certain people, and their needs in the face of mass tourism concentrated in specific zones. I had founded a cultural association in the neighborhood that organized cultural events and used the park as its main location; the park’s closure represented a rupture in a social energy that had been growing within the community.

I also screened a film at the Unarchive Found Footage Fest 2025 in Rome, exploring archival materials with full creative control over editing. Additionally, I created a film exploring the relationship between residents of a small Sicilian island and their urban environment, developed during an international artist residency in Syracuse, Sicily. However, the projects I am currently most excited about are those I developed during my time in New York.

Tell us about what type of projects excite you and why.

During my exchange period at The New School in New York, I had the opportunity to experiment with new styles that are less anchored in realism. Together with Italian actor Riccardo Eggshell, I created a short film, soon to be distributed, focused on the relationship between dreams, insomnia, and the city of New York.

I also created an immersive VR storytelling experience while taking a course in Immersive Storytelling at Parsons School of Design, based on a story I wrote several years ago. It was a valuable experience to be guided by Professor Maya Georgieva while, in turn, leading a team of students who were exposed to the project’s socio-cultural context for the first time, and witnessing how they ultimately came to believe in the idea as well.

The narrative follows Misrah, a 50-year-old woman who relives the memory of her missing child through an artificial-intelligence–guided simulation, after she lost her child during their migration journey to Sicily. In the virtual reality experience, which will also be released soon, participants experience the story from Misrah’s perspective. Everything appears perfect until the simulation begins to glitch, unable to recreate a reality that accurately reflects memories shaped outside of a Western-based framework.

Please discuss your goals as an artist and what shapes them.

I believe an artist’s role is to give form to their perception of the world, adding something unique that no one else could contribute. My main goal is to innovate, pushing storytelling into experimental forms while remaining deeply connected to social and personal realities.

New York inspires this drive, as it is a dynamic city with an energy that fuels an artistic spirit guided by innovation, passion, and storytelling. It is a city I deeply identify with on a personal level because of its ambition and its future-oriented mindset. For this reason, I hope to return to the United States.

How do you feel you can contribute as a director or artist in the U.S.?

I grew up between Belgium and Italy, experiencing a variety of cultural realities that shaped my perspective. I believe the primary skill of a director is the ability to reshape the surrounding space according to their personal vision. The United States has always been a place where reality can be molded, offering room for imagination and the exploration of new artistic frontiers, particularly through its connection to technological innovation.

Studying in New York after working in the Italian film industry has allowed me to access new creative opportunities while staying true to who I am and who I aspire to become. For this reason, returning to the United States is part of my plan, not only to continue my studies but also to gain professional experience in the American film industry.

Connect with Aurora Caruso on LinkedIn and follow her on Instagram at @missauroracaruso.

(All images courtesy of Aurora Caruso)