Stefano Paradiso CCS was born in Rome in 1969. He studied for five years at the R. Rossellini School of Cinematography and TV, where he graduated in Photography in 1988. At a young age, he attended the 5th Steadicam European Stage led by Garrett Brown and Nicola Pecorini.
He began his career as a camera operator at Rai, where he filmed numerous documentaries, including a war reportage in Somalia. After gaining years of experience with the Steadicam, he transitioned fully into the world of cinema as a camera operator in 1997. In 1999, he worked on Marco Tullio Giordana’s film I cento passi. He subsequently collaborated with many well-known Italian, French, and American directors.
In 2001, he moved to France. Two years later, he began working as a Director of Photography on the successful long-running series La vie devant nous.
In 2005, he returned to Italy to shoot his first feature film on film stock, Family Game by Alfredo Arciero.
In France, he collaborated with Moroccan director Narjiss Nejar and Claire Devers, with whom he filmed two movies, the most recent being Pouvre Georges in 2016, a co-production between France, Belgium, and Canada.
In addition to his work in cinema, he has also been involved in many films for French television.
In 2016, he attended the first Arri Trinity course in France, later becoming a Certified Trainer for ARRI Academy.
Stefano returned to Italy in 2017, where he continued to work on cinematic projects and high-quality documentaries. Starting with the film Governance in 2020, he began collaborating with French director Michael Zampino, with whom he is now preparing his third film.
He also works with two talented young directors, Sebastiano Facco and Mattia Temponi, with whom he has created Dante, Il fuorilegge, and El Nido. In 2025, Laghat, an impossible dream, directed by Michael Zampino, is presented at the Torino Film Festival.
Stefano combines his work in cinema with his personal photographic research in the Fine Art world. He has received significant recognition and has exhibited some of his works in prestigious European galleries.
