About us

Daniela Ambrosoli

Daniela Ambrosoli, daughter of the German expressive dancer Sonja Bragowa and the entrepreneur Pierino Ambrosoli from Lombardy, was born in Ascona, then a small fishing village in southern Switzerland. She attended school in Ascona and in Locarno, where she received the Swiss Federal Matura Type B. In the years that followed, she pursued university studies and gained work experience in the fields of psychology and medicine in Florence, Zürich, and Geneva.

The birth of her first two children and the early death of her father changed her life dramatically. Daniela Ambrosoli completed management training and took over some of the companies founded by her father, including Camping Delta and Amministrazione Immobiliare Ambrosoli in Locarno. In 1999 she founded Travel & Culture Management AG in Zurich.

Her daughter Shari was born in 1977 and showed talent and enthusiasm for dance at an early age. In 1990, Daniela Ambrosoli founded the Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation in Zürich, a foundation that supports the development of young dance and music talents from around the world. In the years that followed, Daniela Ambrosoli became a member of several administrative boards of international associations involved in dance and music as well as humanitarian and social causes. This is also the reason Daniela Ambrosoli frequently undertakes cultural and business trips.

Through her daughter Shari Yantra Marcacci, film writer and director, and her son Aliocha Merker, still photographer and cinematographer, she became connected with the film world and industry. She worked as assistant director, production manager, and translator for director Renato Pugina for TV documentaries produced by Radiotelevisione Svizzera (RSI) including "La Depressione, un male oscuro" (2004), "Sul corpo e nel cuore" (2007), "In un corpo sbagliato" and "Madri figlicide" (2010), and "L'ultimo viaggio" (2013). As co-director, she realised "Per Amor di Dio" (2011) with Renato Pugina for RSI.

Daniela Ambrosoli is a native speaker of Italian and German and also speaks and writes French, English, and Spanish.

HN – Hermann Nitsch

"HN - Hermann Nitsch", the first documentary film of her own, marked Daniela Ambrosoli’s debut as a director in 2009.

Awards for “HN – Hermann Nitsch”:

Hot Springs documentary Film Festival Hot Springs (USA)
14th - 23rd October 2011
Festival du Film de Strasbourg (France)
August 2011
Da Vinci Film Festival, Corvallis (USA)
15th-17th July 2011
Official Selection
Revelation - Perth International Film Festival(Australia)
14th - 24th July 2011
Beverly Hills Film Festival (USA)
6th - 10th April 2011
Audience Choice Award - Best Documentary
La Femme Film Festival, Los Angeles (USA)
14th - 17th October 2010
Official Selection
Punta del este Documentary & Fiction Festival (Uruguay) 17th - 18th September 2010
Official Selection
Asolo Film Festival (Italy)
27th August - 5th September 2010
Official Selection

The Making of a Dream

"The Making of a Dream - Life as a Ballet Dancer" (2017) is a cinematic essay about ballet, dance, dancers, and their lives. "The Making of a Dream" is the result of Daniela's lifelong love of dance, music, and the theatre scene. This documentary shows the difficult journey of ambitious young people from their first steps in amateur dance schools to a career as principal dancers in world-famous dance companies.

The film includes numerous interviews with renowned players in the global dance scene, such as the famous dancer Etoile from La Scala in Milan, Luciana Savignano, and the Swiss actress Sabine Timoteo, a former dancer. The film crew visited many famous dance companies and academies in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, and the USA, in Boston and New York.

Photo©Reza Khatir

Awards for “The Making of a Dream”:

Official Selection, LA Femme International Film Festival 2017
Winner, Best Documentary, Utah Dance Film Festival 2018
Winner, Best Documentary, Austrian Independent Film Festival 2018
Nomination for Best Cinematography, Nice International Film Festival 2018

"The Making of a Dream" was shown at the Stüssihof Cinema in Zürich for 6 weeks and at the Rialto Cinema in Locarno for 4 weeks and programmed on RSI television in Ticino starting October 2018. "The Making of a Dream" is globally distributed by Taskovskifilms London.

papa&dada

The classic image of the family is fundamentally changing. More and more same-sex couples are fulfilling their dream of having their own children. For her documentary film "papa&dada", the Swiss Italian director Daniela Ambrosoli followed four homosexual couples for several years, filming in the USA, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. The couples, among them the famous ballet dancer John Lam and his husband John Ruggieri, talk openly and touchingly about how the desire for a family developed, the struggles they faced on the way to becoming a happy family, and how everyday life with their children looks today.

The film paints a loving portrait of ordinary family life, and it impressively proves that two fathers experience the same worries, hardships, joys, and challenges as a father and mother do. As parents, papa and dada help their children brush their teeth, tell them bedtime stories, and take them on family outings. The unconditional love that the couples show their children runs like a thread through the film – unobtrusive, but always present. It is summed up in Christian and Mimmo's statement: "Sexual orientation has nothing to do with raising a child. Being a parent simply means giving love. Period."

The 90-minute film includes conversations with the surrogate mothers who gave the couples the greatest gift of their lives and with Demis Volpi. The Argentinean is choreographing a ballet piece based on the children's picture book "King & King", in which two princes fall in love. "It's not about homosexuality but simply about universal love", Demis Volpi explains. Stefan Haupt is also featured in the film. The Swiss director caused a sensation in 2014 with "The Circle", a film that tells the love story of Ernst Ostertag and Röbi Rapp, two pioneers in the battle for gay rights. “papa&dada” has been submitted to various film festivals. So far, it has been selected as a finalist for the Love Story Film Festival London 2022 and for the Swedish Luleå International Film Festival.

"L'ultimo viaggio" (2013). As co-director, she realised "Per Amor di Dio" (2011) with Renato Pugina for RSI.

Awards for papa&dada

LA Independent Women Film Awards 2022 Official selection
LIFF-Sweden, Lulea International Film Festival 2021 Finalist
Love Story
Film Festival London 2022 nominated Best Documentary
Fusion International Film Festival 2022 LGBTQ Best Documentary Award Winner
East Europe International Film Festival-Warsaw Edition 2022 Best Documentary Award Winner
Lonely Wolf International Film Festival London 2023 Nominated Best Queer
Lonely Wolf International Film Festival London 2023 Nominated Best Feature Doc
Lonely Wolf International Film Festival London 2023 Nominated Best Doc Editing & Sound
Lonely Wolf International Film Festival London 2023 Nominated Best Doc Directing
Berlin International Art Film Festival 2022 Nominated Best Documentary
New York Independent Cinema Awards 2023 Best Documentary Award Winner
Toronto Film and Script Awards 2023 Semi-finalist
Poland 14th LGBT+ Film Festival Official 2023 Selection
Freiburg Germany 39th Gay film Festival Official 2023 Selection
18th Festival of Tolerance - JFF Zagreb Kroatien Premiere
Infinite Creativity Film Festival Genf 2023 Selection

Sascha Nagel

Sascha Nagel, born May 12, 1980, state-certified business assistant and hotel specialist, coming from Konstanz, Germany, found his professional path to Zurich, Switzerland, in 2004. Employed at various 4* and 5* hotels for several years as a receptionist and concierge employee, the continuing interest in something new led me away from the hotel industry, namely into air traffic to Zurich Airport. At a private jet provider and at the airport operator himself, he deepened his skills and knowledge.

Born in Halle, he is married and has a son and a daughter. His two brothers, living in Switzerland and America, make family life complete.

He has been with the Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation since February 2022, as Secretary and Personal Assistant to President Daniela Ambrosoli and the family. He is available every day with full commitment at Kasinostrasse 11 in Zurich to take care of Mrs. Ambrosoli's wishes and the daily work in the Foundation.