Born in Brazil, Julia Lima Rosengren began her career as a model in the 1990s, a period which saw her traveling all over the world while also trying to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. During this time, she learned numerous languages, achieving fluency in Portuguese, English, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian and Danish. While working as a model in London, she spent time as the host of a talk show before relocating to France, where she brought her expertise to Galeries Lafayette, a Paris department store, as a fashion consultant. Following her time as a model, Ms. Rosengren went on to achieve success in the culinary arts, becoming a master chef and the owner of Julia’s Cuisine Exotique from 2012 to 2015.
In 2015, Ms. Rosengren met her late husband, James Rosengren, and moved to the United States. Realizing that she could make a difference in people’s lives no matter where in the world she was, she began funneling her interest and talents into making short films, and today, she is an actress, filmmaker, producer and director with her own film production company, ManoelFerreira Productions, LLC. In 2020, she released “Before Sunrise,” a short film about friendship and connection, which was followed by “Leaves” in 2021. “Leaves” brings her early love of nature to the big screen as she seeks to raise awareness about climate change, deforestation and wildfires.
Ms. Rosengren has also brought her skill in filmmaking to her philanthropic endeavors, working with Movies Making a Difference to create documentaries about human trafficking and abuse in Christian cults. Her first film with the organization was “Cult Cartel,” and a sequel called “Carmelita” will be entering production in January 2023. Furthermore, she co-founded United Changing Lives with her close friend Anderson Ribeirao, which assists women in northeast Brazil to support themselves via education and career training. Ms. Rosengren has also been an anonymous donor to her hometown, where she has provided aid for housing repairs and was able to get an irrigation system built to alleviate the area’s endemic dryness.
As she progressed through her career, Ms. Rosengren furthered her skills by obtaining an associate degree from the University of São Paulo in Brazil. She remains involved in education by granting scholarships through the University of Central Florida, where she also helped to fund locker rooms for their football, soccer and volleyball teams. Attributing much of her success to the support she has received from her family and friends, Ms. Rosengren is particularly grateful to her late husband, who was a veteran and ran a company that provided medications for veterans, and her father, who she cites as her personal hero.
For her excellence, Ms. Rosengren has received a number of honors and accolades for her work in film. “Before Sunrise” has been recognized with more than 20 awards since its release in 2020, and “Leaves” won her the Outstanding Achievement Award for Best Actress at the 2022 Calcutta International Cult Film Festival. “Leaves” is also slated to appear at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival. Looking toward the future, Ms. Rosengren hopes to continue making a difference through her films.
Ms. Rosengren feels that learning to live alone and how to love herself were the most important lessons that she learned when starting out on her career path, and she would advise young and aspiring professionals to not be afraid to share their ideas. You have to believe in yourself, never give up and not let others discourage you. She feels strongly that all dreams are possible, especially when you are trying to do something you love. Above everything, Ms. Rosengren emphasizes that if you fail, stand up and stand up stronger.