Simone Bardi
ANTHROPOLOGIST, FILMMAKER, PHOTOGRAPHER AND TEACHER

UPCOMING FILMS
Val Morosina documentary (June 2025)
Eidon (2025)
I am an anthropologist and filmmaker based between Veneto and Emilia. Since 2016 I have been working as a professional photographer and videomaker. I graduated with honors in Cultural Anthropology and I have a diploma from the ETNOFILMSchool Documentary Film School in Monselice (Padua), where I currently hold the chair of Direction of Photography and Color Grading.
After an initial ethnographic research in Morocco, where I studied and documented the traditional hunting of falconers and breeders of Sloughi (Maghreb greyhound), my career has led me to work for several international platforms and networks, including Netflix UK, Discovery, Sky and Prime Video. These experiences have allowed me to bring my vision and technical skills to high-profile projects, always exploring the theme of correspondences between human beings and nature through photography and documentary.
For the Centro Studi sull'ETNODRAMA in Padua, I then worked on the expression of the body and the anthropology of the senses, writing and staging live performances, as well as actively collaborating at the ETNOFILMfest, as co-organizer, photographer and videomaker of the Festival of Ethnographic Documentary Film based in Veneto.
On a commercial and advertising level, I have been producing content for companies in the Emilia and Veneto regions for years, using the approaches of visual anthropology and humanist photography, therefore with a specific focus on the traditions and values to be told and passed on.
I am currently conducting ethnographic research in Polesine, recounting the relationship between a family of fishermen and the fragile landscape of the Po Delta, between climate change, extinction of traditions and ecological resistance. On these same themes I am also developing a documentary and a photo reportage.
Through my work, I try to raise awareness about the relationship between man and nature, cultural expression and the preservation of traditions. I firmly believe that through ecological and anthropological research we can contribute to a positive and lasting change in society, in connection with the natural environment. For this reason, I am open to collaborations and projects with companies or cultural associations that share these values and want to work together for field research and studies of the territory in relation to local communities.
I am also a teacher of Cultural Anthropology and Art direction at Mood Art School, of Cinematography and Video editing for the ITS Digital Academy Mario Volpato in Verona, Direction of photography and Color Grading at ETNOFILM School in Monselice. I also train as a Business coach for photographers and videomakers at RZ Coaching LTD in Cyprus.
/ awards and recognitions
Preview* at the 81st Venice International Film Festival of the ethnographic and documentary research in the Po Delta: resistance ecology, fishing, climate change and eco-anthropology of Polesine (*preview within the event of the 10th anniversary of ETNOFILM, Veneto Region pavilion)
"Via Lattea", photographic exhibition hosted on the occasion of the International Congress of Cultural Anthropology (2023)
"Selvatica", a photographic project on the themes of geoanarchy and eco-anthropology, hosted on the occasion of the International Congress of Cultural Anthropology (2023)
Reitschule Experimental Arts Festival (Bern, Switzerland) - WINNER and Film premiere with the short film "The End (of a man)" (2021)
Semifinalist at CineFacts Quarantena Film Festival (2020)
Photo book "Quarantines" (2021)
Ethnographic research for the Traditional Hunting and Falconry Association of Deroua (Casablanca, Morocco), the Ministry of Youth of the Kingdom of Morocco and Ca' Foscari University of Venice (2016-2019)
Artistic direction and writing of the live performance Cochaplague for ETNOFILMfest, Padova (2019)
Artistic direction of "Art Raid" for Collettivo Vertigo (Bern, Switzerland)
National and international collaborations in the documentary field: Netflix UK, Discovery, Sky