David Awards Signal Shift in Generations and Genres in Cinema Italiano
variety.comNick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs they celebrate being held as a physical event, Italy’s upcoming 67th David di Donatello Awards epitomize the ongoing shift in generations and genres that is underway in Cinema Italiano.
Leading the pack this year are seasoned auteur Paolo Sorrentino’s most personal film “The Hand of God” and young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out,” which is set in 1943 Rome and involves four “freaks” working in a circus when the Eternal City is bombed by Allied Forces.
Both pics scored 16 nominations each.Close behind are Mario Martone’s classic biopic “The King of Laughter,” about popular early 20th-century Neapolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta, with 14 noms.
Then come Leonardo Di Costanzo’s subtle prison drama “Ariaferma” and “Diabolik,” an adaptation of a comic book about a charming master thief, directed by Marco and Antonio Manetti, both with 11 noms a piece. “We have all the masters represented in the nominations,” says film critic Piera Detassis, who heads the Italian Film Academy that runs the awards, citing Sorrentino, Martone and Giuseppe Tornatore, whose Ennio Morricone doc “Ennio” is also a contender in several top categories. “But then there is also the younger generation that is tackling genre in the forms of fantasy and comics.
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