At the NICE Festival in Russia (New Italian Cinema),C’è Chi Dice No, first work by director Giambattista Avellino, won the Audience Choice Prize.
From the festival’s website:
The mission of Nice has always been to value and raise awareness towards the Italian cinema and the film industry in general, without the glamour of the red carpet reserved to stars and paparazzi, because Nice aims to be a culturally and promotionally significant event through a highly-selective program of contemporary Italian cinema, now newly empowered and consolidated.
Young directors know how to look for their own creative path and have their own aesthetics, which are inspired by tradition, both ancient and modern. They tell stories and dramas of disorientation, social discomfort, immigration, depicting the world of those living in the most humble conditions, denouncing corruption and criminality, and the films demonstrating their undeniable talent are many. The directors presented this year have done so through comedies and the power of irony, which has the ability to help us understand and react to our current difficult issues.
Despite the major financial limitations in which all directors are currently condemned to work, which is also a common denominator for the entire film industry, the Italian cinema is finally growing, regaining a place within the market; the support and attendance at the Italian film festivals around the world has increased as well, as a demonstration of these new director’s obstinacy and talent, able to overcome the crisis and excel as much as their predecessors. The nine films selected by Nice this year highlight all that.
Giorgia Cecere, won best director for Il Primo Incarico, with Isabella Ragonese. Both awards were given at the festivals closing night gala on March 25.
Il Primo Incarico and C’è Chi Dice No are both available on DVD through ibs.it or Amazon and both have English subtitles. You’ll need a region free DVD player.
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