Award ceremony for the 2025 Barba Varley Prize

Award ceremony for the 2025 Barba Varley Prize to Francesca Rotolo for the project “Anima liber” and to Gabriel Dombek for his work as a documentary filmmaker in Mexican prisons.

The award ceremony will be dedicated to Cosimo Rega, who chose to launch his acting career outside the prison walls where he was incarcerated. He requested and was granted permission to go there regularly to try to help young inmates through his testimony, inspired by the shared experiences of life, feelings, and pain that only prison can provide.

While serving his sentence, Rega encountered the theater, previously unknown to him, and finally his kingdom and his freedom. The prize, named after him, aims to support the small “kingdoms” that try to exist within the prison system.

Speakers:

Giuseppe Chiodo
Direttore Istituto Penale per i Minorenni di Roma “Casal Del Marmo”
Stefano Anastasia
Garante Regione Lazio dei diritti delle persone private della libertà personale
Valentina Venturini
Prof. di Storia del Teatro, Università degli Studi Roma Tre
Francesca Rotolo
Associazione MAST – Officina delle Arti
Gabriel Dombek, Regista
Eugenio Barba e Julia Varley (Fondazione Barba Varley)