Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs we enter the final countdown to the Feb. 8 Oscar nominations announcement, Isabella Rossellini is clearly rooting for Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” which is Italy’s candidate for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and among the shortlisted titles.To help promote the pic with Academy voters, Rossellini engaged in an online chat with the director and young Italian actor Filippo Scotti, who plays Sorrentino’s alter-ego Fabietto in the pic.
She also wore a gold horn amulet that belonged to her father, the late great Italian master Roberto Rossellini, for good luck.Here are edited excerpts of the conversation, to which Variety has been given exclusive access. Rossellini: So here we are.
All the ghosts are coming [out] because this film has so many references to cinema. It’s such a love letter to Italy, and particularly to Naples.
For us, Italians, they [the references] also have the depth of something that is very much part of our culture. For example, I am referring to Federico Fellini’s voice.
Read more on variety.com