A celebration of Italian cinema but also a reminder of the uncertainty that the sector experiences and the request for an open dialogue with politics, relaunched by President Mattarella and welcomed by the Minister of Culture Giuli. They were among the colors of the usual presentation ceremony at the Quirinale of the candidates for the David di Donatello Awards (now in their 71st edition) which will be awarded this evening in Cinecittà.
«In the face of difficulties, the agreement between the institutions and the components of the sector can be a multiplier of resources and energy», underlined Mattarella at the end of the morning in front of an audience that included dozens of protagonists of several generations of Italian cinema, from Francesco Sossai (16 nominations for the surprise of the season Le città di planura) to Tecla Insolia (competing among the leading actresses for Primavera), from Paolo Sorrentino (14 nominations for Grace) to Vittorio Storaro, who will receive the special Cinecittà David 71 award, from Matilda De Angelis (competing as supporting actress for Fuori) to Gianni Amelio, who will receive the lifetime achievement award.
Cinema is “a heritage of the country – underlined Mattarella – which as such must be considered supported, valorised, encouraged, in productions, as well as in experiments”. On the other hand, the moment is complex: «Governments alternate, cinema remains – recall dozens of sector associations in the open letter sent to Mattarella, of which Piera Detassis, president and artistic director of the Accademia del Cinema Italiano Foundation, read an excerpt at the Quirinale -. This is why we ask once again, and with one voice, that the discussion with the institutions be real, open and constructive.”
Requests which were not missed by the Minister of Culture Giuli, who in his speech also returned to the controversies linked to the allocation of funds: «Some films have obtained undeserved public funding both on an automatic and selective basis. Others, despite deserving them, did not have them. The unacceptable fallout on the docufilm ‘All the evil in the world’ dedicated to Giulio Regeni applies above all, to whose memory go my heartfelt thoughts and the promise, already partly kept, to bring order and a surplus of moral conscience where opacity or incompetence have instead prevailed. Never again!» he thundered, and then launched “an appeal to the majesty of Parliament, where a bill signed by the first opposition party found a hearing in the main majority party and produced an enabling law on which the entire constitutional arc shows signs of agreement: please, let’s not miss the opportunity to show ourselves cohesive in the reform of the national audiovisual system”.
For today’s evening event in Cinecittà, the protest has already been announced outside the studios – supported by M5s and Usb – by the movement of cinema workers #siamoaititolidicoda, already promoter, in recent weeks (without too much success) of an appeal to boycott the awards ceremony. «Those who protest have every right to do so – Martone, who has eight nominations for Fuori, commented to journalists. The topics are all on the table, it is good that we discuss them.” However, being at today’s event “for me means taking advantage of an opportunity, taking advantage of a stage to bring a message”, observed Matilda De Angelis, announcing a line of action that other candidates are also thinking of following.
An alternation of reminders and good intentions flowed in a morning led by Claudio Bisio who took over the baton from the more ironic Geppi Cucciari. The actor and director, who did not miss the opportunity for a nice little exchange with Mattarella linked to having played an original version of the highest office of the State in the comedy Benvenuto Presidente!, also touched on politics with a joke linked to the Minetti case: «Knowing my reputation as a gaffeur, my friends have advised me of topics not to address and words not to say and I promise I won’t do it – he joked at the opening of the ceremony – but there is one that I can’t help but say, because it got 14 nominations, I am referring to Paolo Sorrentino’s film (La Grazia, ed.)… I will say it in a whisper so as not to embarrass anyone”.