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Francesco Rulli

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Francesco Rulli
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder and President of Film Annex; fashion business partner to John Malkovich

Francesco Rulli is an Italian businessman[1] and judo instructor.[2] He founded and serves as the president of Film Annex, an online independent film distribution platform and Web TV Network.[3] Over the past 17 years, he also founded MTI USA Inc., a fashion and textiles consulting firm; Phase One, a global sourcing, product developing, and garment manufacturing company now incorporated within the MTI group;[4] and Mrs. Mudd, a fashion and design consulting firm founded with American actor, producer and director John Malkovich.[5] Rulli is also a Black Belt Judo Competitor[6] and the Judo instructor at the New York Athletic Club’s Saturday Morning Program.[2]

Career

In 1995, Rulli founded his first company, MTI USA INC., a consulting firm that provides fashion related services to the top 200 North American fashion industries. Since 1995, MTI has become one of the leading textile agencies operating in the United States.[3]

In 2001, Rulli met John Malkovich in New York through mutual friend and then ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey, and asked Malkovich if he would be interested in doing a men's clothing line.[7] In 2002, they founded Mrs. Mudd, a fashion company selling outfits designed by Malkovich himself.[8] The company released its John Malkovich menswear collection, "Uncle Kimono", in 2003,[9] and its second clothing line, "Technobohemian," in 2010.[10]

In 2005, Rulli founded and became the president of Phase One, a global sourcing, product developing, and garment manufacturing company. Phase One is now incorporated within the MTI group.[6]

In 2006, Rulli founded Film Annex,[6] an online independent film distribution platform and Web TV Network that allows filmmakers to create free Web TVs to present their work under specific domain names. In this way, Film Annex creates a brand out of the filmmaker’s name, company, or project, thus reducing the "forward-slash mentality" of Vimeo, YouTube, and other similar platforms.[11] One of Film Annex’s most notable projects is the May 2010 launch of www.AbelFerrara.com, a Web TV in partnership with American screenwriter and director Abel Ferrara. Abel Ferrara TV broadcasts Ferrara’s videos, including excerpts from his films, news about his latest projects, and interviews with the filmmaker and other members of his creative team.[12]

As another Film Annex project, in 2012, Rulli partnered with Roya Mahboob[13] , founder and CEO of the Afghan Citadel Software Company (ACSC), to launch the Afghan Development Project. The project aims to "show the world the new face of Afghanistan by broadcasting current event videos, interviews, and news clips as well as archival material directly from Afghan Youth Development."[14]

As a part of the Afghan Development Project, Film Annex and the Afghan Citadel Company worked together to build the first Internet classroom at the Baghnazargah School, located 5 kilometers away from the center of Herat. Soon after, the Afghan Development team finished the construction of the second classroom at the Houz-e-Karbas high school. Their work enabled 4000 Afghan children to connect to the global community of the World Wide Web.[15]

The Afghan Development Project recently secured many corporate backers, including USAID, SpotXChange, Advertise.com, AdOnNetwork and others.[14] In June 2012, Film Annex and the Afghan Development Project started several other initiatives, including "the development of an educational curriculum with a special focus on social media strategies; the development of an educational software in Dari, which will allow Film Annex to monitor test results and reward students; a direct investment into the Afghan 'technology grid'; a direct investment into Herat’s school infrastructure; and micro payments for micro scholarships via mobile money system." Film Annex also organized a production team in Afghanistan whose mission is to document positive stories and implement a new navigation system onto the Film Annex platform in Dari for Dari-speaking users.[15]

Charity Work

Francesco Rulli is an active member of the Global Medical Relief Fund, an organization working to bring hope and help to children injured or otherwise damaged due to the atrocities of war, natural disaster or illness.[16] He also supports the Special Needs Activity Center for Kids (SNACK), which provides after-school and weekend recreational programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other similar developmental and behavioral disabilities;[17] DKMS (German Bone Marrow Donor Center in English), which recruits bone marrow donors for leukemia patients;[18] and Hope for Kai, which raises support for 5-year-old leukemia patient Kai Anderson.[19]

In 2012, Rulli began the Global Initiative for Veteran Entrepreneurship (G.I.V.E.), a program that provides veterans with business opportunities and works to re-introduce them into society. He is also a Yodan (4th degree black belt) and active competitor in judo, and helps run the New York Athletic Club’s Saturday Morning Program.[2] The program, for NYAC members’ children, provides exposure to and basic training in judo. Rulli is one of the program’s judo coaches.[20]


References

  1. ^ Rimas, Andrew (January 2005). "John Malkovich: The Invisible Man=[[Boston Magazine]]". Retrieved January 24, 2012. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  2. ^ a b c "The History of Judo at the New York Athletic Club". www.newyorkopenjudo.com. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b "About Francesco Rulli". Film Annex Corp. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Francesco Rulli's profile on webtvs.filmannex.com". Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  5. ^ John, Heather (April 13, 2003). "Fashionable Liaisons: Meet John Malkovich, Tailor of the Cinema". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Biography of Francesco Rulli". Film Annex Corp. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  7. ^ Brescia, Joe (February 11, 2006). "From Broadway to Runway". New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  8. ^ "Wearing John Malkovich". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 10, 2004. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  9. ^ "Let John Malkovich dress you…". April 30, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  10. ^ "John Malkovich shows fashion line to elite audience". New York Post. February 17, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  11. ^ Park, Jane. "Film Annex". Creative Commons Blog. Creative Commons. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Film Annex and Abel Ferrara Create Web TV Channel". Gotcha Movies. Gotcha Movies. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  13. ^ Shah, Angela. "In Afghanistan, Roya Mahboob Connects Girls With Computers". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  14. ^ a b "Film Annex's Afghan Development Project". www.filmannexcorp.com. Film Annex Corp. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  15. ^ a b Gulfidan, Eren. "Film Annex Builds Internet Classrooms in Afghanistan's Schools in Collaboration with the Afghan Citadel Software Company". http://www.filmannexcorp.com/blog/. Film Annex Corp. Retrieved 12 June 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  16. ^ "About Us". GMRF Children. gmrfchildren.org. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  17. ^ "SNACK Mission". SNACK NYC. snacknyc.com. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  18. ^ "Our Story". dkmsamericas.org. DKMS Americas. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Hope for Kai". Hope for Kai. www.hopeforkai.com. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  20. ^ DiPrinzio, Ron (2006). "Coaches Return for 111th Season" (PDF). The Winged Foot. 125 (10): 10. Retrieved 26 January 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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