Diego Borella was an Italian assistant director whose name became widely known in August 2025, when he died suddenly while working on the fifth season of the Netflix series Emily in Paris. He was 47 years old.
His death drew international attention to the behind-the-scenes professionals who make major television productions possible. Assistant directors coordinate schedules, locations and crews, and Borella’s passing — on set, in front of colleagues — was a shock to the production and to viewers of the show around the world.
Who Was Diego Borella?
Diego Borella was an Italian assistant director working in film and television. At the time of his death he was working as a third assistant director on the Venice shoot of Emily in Paris season five, part of the team responsible for keeping a large international production running on location.
Assistant directors are the organisational backbone of a film set: they prepare call sheets, coordinate cast and crew movements, and make sure each day’s filming happens on schedule. Borella was an experienced member of that profession, working on a production that filmed across multiple European locations.
Early Life and Career Path
Borella’s early life is not widely documented in reliable public sources: he was a behind-the-scenes professional rather than a public figure, and coverage of his life has focused on his work and on the circumstances of his death.
What is documented is his professional standing within film and television production, where assistant directing is a career built up over years of work on sets, progressing through the ranks of the assistant directing team to support roles on major international shoots.
Diego Borella Career in Film and Television
Borella’s career was spent in the assistant directing departments of film and television productions — work that involves managing day-to-day operations on set, from scheduling and logistics to the movement of cast, crew and equipment.
His most prominent credit at the time of his death was Emily in Paris, the Netflix romantic comedy series starring Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, which premiered in 2020 and became one of the platform’s most popular shows. The fifth season moved much of its story to Italy, following the fourth season, which had taken Emily to Rome.
Diego Borella and Emily in Paris
For season five, Borella joined the production for its filming in Venice, one of the Italian locations used as the story shifted between Rome and Venice. As a third assistant director, he was part of the team organising the cast and crew during the location shoot.
Working on a production of this scale involves long days, large crews and complicated location logistics — the Venice episodes were filmed at historic sites around the city, including the Hotel Danieli, where the crew was working on the day he died.
Diego Borella Death and Circumstances
On Thursday 21 August 2025, at around 7 p.m., Borella collapsed in front of colleagues at the Hotel Danieli in Venice as the crew prepared to film a scene. Medics were called and the programme’s medical staff tried to treat him, but he died at the scene. He was 47.
Italian media reported a suspected heart attack, although no official cause of death was publicly confirmed. Filming of season five was temporarily suspended following his death.
Industry Reaction and Tributes
Paramount Television Studios, which produces the series, confirmed the sudden passing of a member of the production family and said its thoughts were with the individual’s family and loved ones. News of his death was reported internationally, including by the BBC.
Colleagues and the production team acknowledged the loss, and condolences were widely shared. When the fifth season was released in December 2025, its Venice-set finale carried a dedication in the closing credits: ‘In memory of Diego Borella.’
Importance of Assistant Directors in Film Production
Borella’s story highlights the essential role assistant directors play in film production. They manage schedules, coordinate cast and crew, relay the director’s plans across departments and keep filming days on track — work that is invisible on screen but fundamental to every scene.
Without that structure, large-scale location productions such as Emily in Paris — with multiple units, international cast members and historic filming locations — would be impossible to run. His career reflects the importance of those roles, and the experience they demand.
Legacy of Diego Borella
Borella’s legacy is bound up with the final production he worked on: the fifth season of one of Netflix’s most-watched series. The dedication in its finale means his name is permanently attached to the programme he helped to make.
His death also prompted wider appreciation of behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry — the hundreds of crew members whose names appear only in the closing credits, and whose skill keeps complex productions running.
Conclusion
Diego Borella was a working professional whose death at 47, on the set of a production he was helping to deliver, moved colleagues and audiences alike. Public information about his private life is limited, but the respect shown by his production — and its on-screen tribute — speaks clearly about his place within it.
His story is a reminder of the dedication required in film production and of the often unseen individuals who help bring stories to the screen. The Venice finale of Emily in Paris season five stands as his memorial.
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