L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano V enice won the Leone d'Oro. The 78th edition of the Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica has b e e n t r u l y s p e c i a l : i t managed to overcome the pandemic, gathering into one embrace the world of i n t e r n a t i o n a l c i n e m a t o celebrate together on the l a g u n a . I t h a s a l s o emphasized this is a golden moment for Italian cinema a n d i t s a b i l i t y t o s t i r e m o t i o n s , t o t e l l i n t e n s e stories, to amaze. Three prizes -- beside the G o l d e n L i o n f o r l i f e t i m e a c h i e v e m e n t a w a r d e d t o R o b e r t o B e n i g n i - - celebrated this true state of grace of our cinema, which competed with five movies. "In the past 20 years, Italian cinema hasn't been as vibrant and vital as it is today. It's not only a matter of investments, but also of quality," Festival director Alberto Barbera declared, underlining this "means a lot for the future of our cinema." Paolo Sorrentino won the Silver Lion Grand Jury P r i z e f o r t h e autobiographical The Hand of God, where he tells the s t o r y o f a n 1 8 y e a r s o l d d e a l i n g w i t h l o s i n g h i s p a r e n t s a n d w i t h t h e uncertainty of his future, while Naples in the years of Diego Armando Maradona and the first scudetto moves i n t h e b a c k g r o u n d . T h e special Marcello Mastroianni Award, always assigned to a young actress or actor, went to Filippo Scotti, alter ego of the Oscar winning director in the movie. The Hand of God also received the Premio Francesco Pasinetti for best f i l m , a w a r d e d b y t h e S i n d a c a t o N a z i o n a l e Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani (the Italian union of cinema journalists). Their motivation: "A self portrait of the author as a young man, in a personal and surprisingly i n t i m a t e t a l e , a b l e t o entertain and be touching just like a Maradona goal, and that has the power to move deeply, reaching the heart." They also awarded the movie's protagonist, Toni S e r v i l l o , a s b e s t m a l e interpreter. The Special Jury Prize went, after a ten minutes standing ovation, to Il Buco b y M i c h e l a n g e l o Frammartino. The movie focuses on the incredible, but inexplicably unknown feat of a g r o u p o f I t a l i a n speleologists who, in 1961, e x p l o r e d t h e A b i s s o d e l Bifurto, also known as the F o s s a d e l L u p o , a 6 8 3 meters (about 2240 ft) deep s i n k h o l e i n C e r c h i a r a d i C a l a b r i a . T h e o n l y t w o surviving members of the crew, octogenarian Beppe De Matteis and Giulio Gecchele, were in Venice for the movie, which also won the Premio F e d e r a z i o n e I t a l i a n a Cineclub. Five full years after the success of They Call me Jeeg, there was a lot of curiosity a r o u n d G a b r i e l e M a i n e t t i ' s n e w m o v i e , F r e a k s O u t , t h a t f i n a l l y premiered internationally after its release had been postponed several times in t h e p a s t y e a r d u e t o t h e pandemic. The movie didn't disappoint: it actually won the Premio Leoncino d'Oro and the Premio LIzzani-Anac A s s o c i a z i o n e N a z i o n a l e Autori Cinematografici. The only Italian movies not to receive any award were the D'Innocenzo brothers' America Latina, with Elio G e r m a n o , a n d M a r i o Martone's Qui rido Io, with Toni Servillo interpreting N e a p o l i t a n a c t o r a n d p l a y w r i g h t E d u a r d o Scarpetta. The out-of-competition movie La Scuola Cattolica, d i r e c t e d b y S t e f a n o M o r d i n i a n d b a s e d o n E d o a r d o A l b i n a t i ' s homonymous novel, winner o f t h e P r e m i o S t r e g a i n 2016, was highly anticipated. The film, which showcased a star-filled Italian cast, was i n s p i r e d b y t h e C i r c e o massacre, one of the most disturbing true crime cases in Italian history that, after fifty years, still manages to shock the public. The 78th edition of the Venice Film Festival ended with the preview of Roberto Andò's Il Bambino Nascosto, starring Silvio Orlando. A great accent was placed o n m u s i c t h i s y e a r , b o t h Italian and international, s t a r t i n g w i t h G i u s e p p e T o r n a t o r e ' s t r i b u t e t o Maestro Ennio Morricone ( 1 9 2 8 - 2 0 2 0 ) w i t h E n n i o . A l w a y s i n t h e o u t - o f - competition section Giorgio Verdelli's Ezio Bosso. Le Cose che Restano and Bernard MacMahon's Becoming Led Z e p p e l i n ( w h i c h b r o u g h t guitarist Jimmy Page to the lagoon) were presented. The first was an homage to the t u r i n e s e m u s i c i a n a n d conductor, who passed away last year, aged 48; the second presented the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin to the Festival's public. During the final evening the Jury -- with chair Bong J o o n H o a n d m e m b e r s Saverio Costanzo, Virginie Efira, Cynthia Erivo, Sarah Gadon, Alexander Nanau and Chloé Zhao -- awarded the Golden Lion for best film to L' Événement, by French d i r e c t o r A u d r e y D i w a n . Indeed, this was an edition that focused on the work of f e m a l e a r t i s t s , w i t h J a n e Champion winning the Leone d'Argento for best director with The Power of the Dog and Maggie Gyllenhaal for best screenplay with The Lost Daughter. The Coppa Volpi for the b e s t f e m a l e a n d m a l e interpreters went to Penélope C r u z f o r t h e F e s t i v a l ' s o p e n i n g f i l m , P e d r o A l m o d ó v a r ' s M a d r e s Paralelas (Spain); and John Arcilla for On the Job: the M i s s i n g 8 , b y E r i k M a t t i (Philippines). W h i l e t h e F e s t i v a l h a s been received positively by t h e p u b l i c , C o v i d - 1 9 restrictions limited, for the second year in a row, fans' enthusiastic exuberance by the red carpet, even if teen idol Timothée Chalamet, in Venice for the premiere of Dune by Denis Villeneuve, b r o k e s a f e t y p r o t o c o l s t o enjoy a handful of seconds close to his fans. Other international starts w a l k e d t h e V e n e t i a n r e d c a r p e t : a " s a u c y " K a t e Hudson, protagonist of Lily Amirpour's Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, who dared a lot with her gala gown, and the most glamorous couple of the moment, Ben Affleck and J e n n i f e r L o p e z , w h o a r e dating again. The former was in Venice to present Ridley Scott's The Last Duel, with his best friend Matt Damon. On the occasion, Scott also r e c e i v e d t h e p r e s t i g i o u s Cartier Award. Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez was back in the lagoon only a handful of days after her participation to the Alta Moda show, where she was a guest of Dolce and Gabbana. Even though theatres are still at half capacity, people y e a r n i n g f o r m o v i e s a n d n o r m a l i t y m e a n t e a c h showing was full, marking a 63% increase on the 2020 e d i t i o n , a n d o n l y 7 % l e s s viewers than the last festival before the pandemic. When talking to the press at the end of the Festival, d i r e c t o r A l b e r t o B a r b e r a c o n f i r m e d i t w a s a v e r y p o s i t i v e e d i t i o n : " W e ' r e w i t n e s s i n g s o m e t h i n g a m a z i n g , w h o knows...perhaps all these d i f f i c u l t i e s h a v e b e e n a n i n s p i r a t i o n f o r d i r e c t o r s . T h a n k s t o m e d i a participation -- but also that of the public, from Italy and abroad -- we achieved much m o r e t h a n w h a t w e expected." LUCA FERRARI Paolo Sorrentino with the Silver Lion he won for The Hand of God (Photo: ASAC/Andrea Avezz) This year, the Leone d'Oro goes to Venezia 78 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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