Salve ragazzi,
Everybody watch the Academy Awards? It was disappointing that the Italian films didn’t bring home any Oscars, but there was a silver lining. How fun was it to see Nomadland win Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director!
And why do I care? Because it’s, once again, proof that the Venice Film Festival is back on top, baby, and that artistic director Alberto Barbera is earning his keep. Since Barbera became the festival’s artistic director in 2011, Venice has premiered three movies that have gone on to win Oscars for Best Picture: Nomadland (2021), The Shape of Water (2018), and Birdman (2015).
Under Barbera’s bold artistic direction, the festival has premiered controversial films like Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!, exceptional international films, like Roma, and movies that lots of people thought SHOULD HAVE gotten Best Picture Oscars, like The Favourite and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
I’ve been in the the Sala Grande, where all these films have premiered, for countless exciting and sometimes screenings that went a little haywire. We’ve seen Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lawrence booed (for Under The Skin and Mother!), most of an audience leave the theater half-way through the film (Spira Mirabilis), and entire audiences cry, like when Julie Andrews was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. I watched The Sound of Music with Julie Andrews, at the Venice Film Festival, a childhood fantasy come true!
I’ve gotten some GREAT photos with my mediocre camera and even my iPhone, but this one is, BY FAR, the most clicked on picture in the history of I Love Italian Movies.
When I first started going to the Venice Film Festival, it was disappointing that Telluride, Toronto, and even Sundance were ranked higher in prestige, but under Barbera’s direction, Venice has claimed a clear second place. Watch out Cannes, we’re coming for you!
So even if you think that the Oscars are a ridiculous spectacle of Hollywood self-congratulation (they are), you should be proud that as far as Hollywood is concerned, in terms of excellence in cinema, VENICE IS IMPORTANT.
🤞 Fingers crossed for Cheri at Venice ‘21!
Mark Your Calendars!
Only 12 days until the awards ceremony that WE all care about, the Premi David Di Donatello (May 11, 2021).
The Davids, as I like to call them ( I think they call them Donatellos in Italy) are film awards named after Donatello's David and have been the award of cinema excellence since 1955.
I watch them every year, but it always takes a little research to find out how to do that in the US, so I will let you know when I know. They are SO MUCH more fun than the Oscars, because, well, they are Italian, and also because the recipients are SO MUCH more humble when they accept their awards. There’s nothing cringeworthy, even for the major stars like Margherita Buy. Margherita has won loads of film awards including 7 Davids, but is she smug about it? Never! Margherita says a simple “Grazie” and then leaves the stage for the next winner’s turn.
There is only one movie nominated for Best Picture that we can stream in the USA, and it is not one that is considered a top runner. It’s called 18 Regali (18 Presents). This one is a tearjerker, and a true story about an actual Italian woman, Elisa Girotto who planned gifts for her daughter when she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.
Here’s where you can watch all the trailers for the other nominees, and YOU KNOW I will tell you when and where to find them when they are released in the USA.
I’m waiting impatiently for the release of Favolacce (Bad Tales), but the Strand Releasing Site still says “Coming Soon”.
And…
If you still haven’t watched last year’s big winner, Il Traditore (The Traitor), PLEASE do! People have complained to me about the price, and it’s true, most platforms only have it for sale, not rent. BUT, if you have STARZ or DirectTV, you can find it there, I imagine included with your subscription. It is my favorite movie in the last few years - it’s SO GOOD.
If you are going to buy it, please do it from me at the I Love Italian Movies Amazon Store! I HONESTLY believe that Amazon has the best selection of foreign films, and if you are Amazon Prime, you get SO MANY Italian films for free, with 2 day free delivery on most of your other Amazon orders. I have saved a TON of money with Amazon Prime! If you join through me, I get paid!
This year’s David Di Donatello Award for Lifetime Achievement goes to sexy Sandra Milo, star of 8 1/2 and Juliet of the Spirits.
Binge it this weekend
You can watch both seasons of Romanzo Criminale, the series, on Amazon. Some people think it glorifies crime too much, but it’s very entertaining, secondo me. It’s loosely based on the Banda della Magliana, a 1970s criminal organization active in Rome and led by three friends, Libanese, Freddo and Dandi, who attempted to merge local gangs in a mafia feud. FYI, this is no chick flick. “Romanzo” means “novel” in Italian, and not “romance”.
Va bene ragazzi, alla prossima!
Un bacione,
Cheri
America’s Cheerleader For Italian Cinema