The Nominations have been announced – you can find them HERE!
Here it is – your 2012 David di Donatello Award checklist, including all of the Italian films in the running for the prizes. The actual nominations will be out in April, but in the meantime, start watching! I’ve put a ★ by the ones that I think have a chance.
The DAVID DI DONATELLO PRIZES were first awarded in Rome in the spring of 1955. Instituted by a cultural club then called The Open Gate, the goal was to honor the best of each year’s Italian film (and one foreign) like the American Oscars.
The “Nastri d’argento” or Silver Ribbons had already existed – but these were assigned by film critics and journalists. Like the Oscars, the Davids are awarded by the people in the industry, the film-makers themselves: screenwriters, performers, technicians, producers.
And by the way, this was a lot of work for me, so – you’re welcome. This is just part one – there are over 100, most with no chance at all.
David di Donatello Award Checklist – Part 1
10 REGOLE PER FARE INNAMORARE (Rules for falling in love) – Opening today in Italian theaters, a womanizer father teaches clumsy son the decalogue of seduction, ten foolproof rules to make any woman fall in love. The results will be not what is expected.
5 (CINQUE) (5) – A gangster movie that didn’t get great reviews.
6 GIORNI SULLA TERRA (Days on the earth) – Dr. Davide studies alien abductions. From the abductees under hypnosis, he finds that some alien races have been installing, for millennia, their active memories in the people’s brains, to exploit a special energy – the soul. (Hey Nigel, this one’s for you.)
A SUD DI NEW YORK (South of New York) – FIlmed in New York, it’s a comedy about two women trying to make it big in the big apple.
★ACAB ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS – Starring Pierfrancesco Favino, this one looks promising. Reviewers call it an authentic mirror of society in documentary style.
ALMENO TU NELL’UNIVERSO (At least you in the universe) – romantic comedy
ANCHE SE E’ AMORE NON SI VEDE (Even if it’s love you don’t see it) – A (looks like it’s) lame comedy about a couple of tour guides.
WAR GAMES: AT THE END OF THE DAY – UN GIORNO SENZA FINE (Day without end) – And English Language horror/thriller.
BACIATO DALLA FORTUNA (Kissed by fortune) – A comedy with Asia Argento about winning the lottery.
BALLA CON NOI (Dance With Us) – A musical.
BALLKAN BAZAR – Based on a true story, it asks the question: Would you sell the bones of your father or grandfather?
BAR SPORT – Can’t wait to see this comedy with Claudio Bisio and Giuseppe Battiston even though the reviews were terrible.
★BENVENUTI AL NORD (Welcome to the North) – Again, CAN NOT WAIT for Claudio Bisio in this sequel to Benvenuti al Sud.
BLOODLINE – 3D horror
BORIS IL FILM – A comedy about a director and his crew attempting to make the transition from the small to the big screen.
BOX OFFICE 3D – IL FILM DEI FILM (The film of films) – A parody on big blockbuster movies.
BUONA GIORNATA (Have a good day)- Christian De Sica’s in it – need I say more?
C’E’ CHI DICE NO (Those that say no) – Starring Paola Cortellesi and Luca Argententero, three friends get mad – and get even, when they feel oppressed by nepotism in their respective fields.
CAPITAN BASILICO 2 – Sci-Fi comedy
CAVALLI (Horses)- Two boys and a horse.
★★CESARE DEVE MORIRE (Caesar must die) – This one won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, it’s a docudrama filmed in a prison with real prisoners staging a performance of Julius Caesar.
COCAPOP – Cocaine is bad for you.
COM’E’ BELLO FAR L’AMORE (How beautiful to make love)- 3D comedy that did well at the box office but one critic called “too American”.
COME TROVARE NEL MODO GIUSTO L’UOMO SBAGLIATO (The right way to find the wrong man)- romantic comedy starring Francesca Inaudi.
★CORPO CELESTE (Heavenly Body)- Thirteen year-old Marta has recently moved back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister and struggles to find her place. This one was directed by Alba Rohrwacher’s sister, Alice Rohrwacher.
COSE DELL’ALTRO MONDO (Things of another world) – Giancarlo Zappo called it “a fun comedy that looks at immigration with intelligence”.
DREAMLAND – LA TERRA DEI SOGNI (The land of dreams)- A story about violence in an Italian-American neighborhood in California.
E’ NATA UNA STAR? (A star is born?) – What do you do when you find out that your teen-age son is a porn star? Sounds like a Lifetime Movie, but it’s a comedy with the usually pretty funny Luciana Littizzetto.
I Love Italian Everything 