L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano O n e d a y , w e may look back a n d s a y i t a l l b e g a n a t t h e P a l a z z o d e l Cinema, when Vermiglio, w r i t t e n a n d d i r e c t e d b y M a u r a D e l p e r o , p r e - miered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. The film immediately won o v e r t h e j u r y , l e d b y Isabelle Huppert, earning the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize. Just days after t h e f e s t i v a l ' s c o n c l u s i o n , V e r m i g l i o a r r i v e d i n t h e - aters, distributed by Lucky Red. Buoyed by its success in Venice and a wave of social media buzz, the film contin- ued to garner widespread acclaim. T h e n a t i o n a l s e l e c t i o n c o m p e t i t i o n i n c l u d e d 1 8 films, such as Gianni Ame- lio's Campo di Battaglia , w h i c h w a s a l s o s h o w n i n Venice, Cento Domeniche by Antonio Albanese, I Bambini di Gaza – Sulle Onde della L i b e r t à b y L o r i s L a i , I l T e m p o c h e c i V u o l e b y F r a n c e s c a C o m e n c i n i , L a Vita Accanto by Marco Tul- l i o G i o r d a n a , a n d Parthenope by Paolo Sor- rentino. However, Vermiglio won over the selectors "for its ability to portray the rural Italy of the past, while con- veying emotions and themes that are universal and still relevant in the present day," making it Italy's official con- t e n d e r f o r t h e u p c o m i n g Academy Awards, which will take place on the night of March 2-3, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Whether the cast will need to book their flights to Cali- fornia will be determined on D e c e m b e r 1 7 , w h e n t h e shortlist for Best Interna- tional Film is revealed. From V e n i c e t o t h e A c a d e m y Awards, the road is long and filled with challenges, but all signs indicate Vermiglio has t h e p o t e n t i a l t o m a k e a n impact in Hollywood. " V e r m i g l i o , " e x p l a i n e d director and screenwriter M a u r a D e l p e r o f r o m Bolzano, "is a landscape of the soul. It's a kind of 'Fami- ly Lexicon' that lives inside me, on the threshold of the unconscious. It's an act of love for my father, his fami- ly, and their small village. By traversing personal time, it pays homage to a collective memory." Great stories of Italian heritage have a unique abili- ty to move audiences and impart valuable lessons in a world racing uncontrollably toward the unknown. The 1975-born director takes us back to a simpler Italy, to a s m a l l m o u n t a i n v i l l a g e where, in the final year of W o r l d W a r I I , a s o l d i e r arrives. The film encapsu- lates the natural cycle of life, where birth and death swap p l a c e s . " I n f o u r s e a s o n s , nature completes its cycle. A girl can become a woman. A belly swells and gives birth t o n e w l i f e . O n e c a n l o s e t h e i r w a y h o m e o r s a i l toward unknown lands. In four seasons, one can die and be reborn." Vermiglio not only won one of the most prestigious awards at the Venice Film Festival—the Silver Lion, an a c c o l a d e g i v e n t o a w o r k that deeply impresses the jury—but also follows in the footsteps of past winners such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Roman Polanski, Fatih Akin, Abbas Kiarostami, Giuseppe Tornatore, and Oliver Stone, among others. In addition to the Silver Lion, Vermiglio was also honored with the 2024 Green Drop Award by Green Cross Italia , n o w i n i t s 1 3 t h e d i t i o n , s h a r e d w i t h A i n d a E s t o u A q u i b y W a l t e r S a l l e s . Founded in 2012, the Green Drop Award, established by N o b e l l a u r e a t e M i k h a i l Gorbachev and introduced to Italy by fellow Nobel lau- reate Professor Rita Levi Montalcini, is awarded to the film that best embodies the values of ecology, sus- tainable development, and cooperation among peoples. The prize—a Murano glass d r o p c r a f t e d b y m a s t e r g l a s s m a k e r S i m o n e C e n e d e s e — t h i s y e a r c o n - tained soil from the birth- place of American biologist and zoologist Rachel Car- son, located in Springdale, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylva- nia (USA). T h e j u r y , c h a i r e d b y Simone Gialdini, Director General of ANEC (National Association of Cinema Oper- ators), explained their deci- sion to award Vermiglio as follows: "For poetically por- t r a y i n g , w i t h e c h o e s o f Ermanno Olmi's cinema, a r u r a l w o r l d t h a t l i v e s according to the rhythm of the seasons, governed by nature, while creating a nar- rative that not only recovers memories and values of a bygone agricultural society but also serves as a signifi- cant parable on modernity. The mountains in the film are the backdrop of every shot, becoming as much the protagonists as the actors themselves, while depicting a landscape that is rapidly changing before our eyes— r i g h t i n T r e n t i n o , w h e r e glaciers are disappearing, forests are being felled by storms, and pests are drying them out. This production d e s e r v e s r e c o g n i t i o n f o r combining the ethical ten- s i o n o f i t s n a r r a t i v e w i t h technical and technological efforts to minimize its envi- ronmental impact, ensuring s u s t a i n a b i l i t y i n e v e r y process, respecting both the e n v i r o n m e n t a n d f u t u r e generations." I n t h e 2 5 O s c a r c e r e - monies held in the 21st cen- t u r y , i n c l u d i n g t h e 2 0 0 0 edition, Italy has reached the final stage of the Acade- my Awards four times: in 2 0 0 6 w i t h C r i s t i n a Comencini's La Bestia nel C u o r e , p r e s e n t e d a t t h e 62nd Venice Film Festival; in 2014 with Paolo Sorrenti- no's La Grande Bellezza, which triumphed that year; i n 2 0 2 2 , o n c e a g a i n w i t h Sorrentino, who presented È Stata la Mano di Dio; and f i n a l l y , i n 2 0 2 4 , w h e n I o Capitano by Matteo Gar- rone, another Venice selec- tion, represented Italy but was ultimately defeated by Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest (UK). LUCA FERRARI Director Maura Delpero with the Silver Lion she has won this year at the Venice Film Festival. Andrea Avezzù/ La Biennale di Venezia foto ASAC Vermiglio starts its Oscar journey as Italy's entry A still from Vermiglio LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS

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