Samantha Casella was born in Faenza.

She studied screenwriting and narrative techniques at the Scuola Holden in Turin, founded by Alessandro Baricco, and directing at the Scuola Immagina in Florence, run by Giuseppe Ferlito. Her directing thesis film, the short film “Juliette”, won several festivals, including the Premio Europeo Massimo Troisi.

In 2001 she directed “Mediterraneo”, a documentary on sculptor Giuseppe Spagnulo, made under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic, produced by “Il Circolo degli Artisti di Lamberto Fabbri” and presented at the Venice Biennale. She continued her career by making several short films, including “Silenzi Interrotti”, winner of three festivals, including the Premio Europeo Massimo Troisi, and “Iris”, starring Elisabetta Rocchetti, Best Film at five festivals, including the Premio Careas and the “Festival Internazionale Dialoghi di Pace”.

She later made documentaries such as “Saison Russe”, focused on the works presented by Moscow’s Helikon Theatre during the Ravenna Festival; “Il West secondo Civitelli”, on the renowned Tex Willer illustrator; and a medium-length film, “Giro di Giostra”, presented during the Venice Film Festival in the Venice Film Meeting section.

Between 2008 and 2015 she directed the short films “L’Opportunità” and “Ágape”, both starring Marina Rocco, as well as a series of documentaries revolving around leading figures from the art world; from “Diario per immagini” (Martino Neri) to “Dai secoli del fuoco e del disegno” (Giovanni Bubani), from “Solida Imago” (Giovanni Scardovi, Luigi Ontani, Mimmo Paladino) to “TraDizioni” (Sergio Monari).

She then pursued two wide-ranging projects: “Via Crucis al Pantheon”, which presents the working process behind the Via Crucis created by Federico Severino and installed at the Pantheon in Rome; and “Autoritratto con Papa”, a record of a painting by Giovanni Bubani and a poem by Davide Rondoni donated to Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2019 she directed “I Am Banksy”. The premiere took place at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles during the Golden State Film Festival, where it won Best International Short. In total, the short film collected 15 awards, including Best Director at the Accolade Global Film Competition.

In 2020 she directed the short film “To A God Unknown”, distributed in US cinemas by FourWalled and winner of 237 awards, including the Metropolitan Film Festival NYC, the Toronto Short Film Channel Festival, the The International World Photography Award and the Global Film Competition.

In 2022 she was director and actress in the work “Antitesi d’amore”, freely inspired by the biblical “Song of Songs”. Enriched by Pino Jodice’s music, the work surpassed 50 awards at international festivals.

“Santa Guerra” is her feature-film debut. A distinctly dreamlike and surreal film, it stars Eugenia Costantini alongside Casella and features Maria Grazia Cucinotta. The preview took place on 7 September 2022 as a Special Event within the 79th Venice International Film Festival. The film won 647 awards at festivals held in 48 different countries.

On 2 September 2024, during the 81st Venice Film Festival, the premiere of her second film, “Katabasis”, took place, where she received the Starlight Award for innovative directing. In addition to directing, she also stars in the film, alongside Bruno Bilotta, Francesco Leone, Jacopo Olmo Antinori, Marina Rocco and Vanessa Marini. The journey of “Katabasis” continued through numerous festivals, where it won a total of over 700 awards. The most significant include those for Best Actress at the Swedish Academy of Motion Picture, the Royal Society of Motion Picture Award, the Hollywood Gold Awards, the New York Movie Awards and the American Film Market in Las Vegas. “Katabasis” was also named Best European Feature of the Year by the Los Angeles Arthouse Film Critics.

Both “Santa Guerra” and “Katabasis” are available on Amazon Prime Video.

In 2025 she directed the video art work “I Canti dell’innocenza e dell’Esperienza” by William Blake; produced by Lamberto Fabbri’s “Il Cenacolo delle Arti” and inspired by a prestigious publication which, in addition to Giuseppe Conte’s translation, features illustrations by Sean Henry.

On 17 May 2026, during the Cannes Film Festival, Variety magazine announced “La Tenerezza del Serpente”; the third chapter in the Subconscious Trilogy, which began with “Santa Guerra” and continued with “Katabasis”.

During the festival days, it was revealed that “La Tenerezza del Serpente”, “The Serpent’s Caress” in the English version, sees Samantha Casella as director and lead actress. The film also marks the return to cinema, after almost thirty years, of an iconic actress of Italian cinema: Laura Trotter. Also noteworthy are the presence of Francesca Rettondini and Gina Rose Pieri’s feature-film debut. The male lead is Bruno Bilotta. The soundtrack by Kim and Kathryn Kluge, known for composing the music for Martin Scorsese’s “Silence”, has a powerful impact.

In June 2026 she stars in the Spanish film “Abitación Para una Pelucla”, directed by David Valverde.