From Taormina to Cortina it is a short step, especially when it comes to cinema. Michel Curatolo, who he brought to the foot of the Dolomites, knows this well the Nations Award, Film Prize of the Nationswith a special edition dedicated to Enrico Vanzina, author of the first cinepanettone in history. The famous “Christmas Vacation ’83” is in fact forty years old, a film that photographed an unforgettable era through its myths. On December 16th the key event of a three-day event entitled “Cortina as in a film” where art is the absolute protagonist and where Sicily plays a leading role with its excellences, in an ideal combination of culture, talent and food. Among the guests, Sasa Salvaggio, comedian from Palermo, theater actor and well-known face of “Striscia la Notizia”. Godmother of the initiative, the Catanian actress Ester Pantano, appreciated in the new Disney fiction “The Lions of Sicily”. Six-handed gala dinner organized by the starred chef Giuseppe Biuso, originally from Palermo, now chef of the Vite di San Patrignano restaurant and Damiano Ardizzone of the renowned “da Nino” restaurant in Letoianni. Grand finale with the cassata of the Catania legend of the pastry chefs Bonvegna and Verona. The chef of de la Poste, Samuel Pessotto, will do the honors.
Cinema and food have never been so close thanks also to “cine-panettone” specially prepared by the pastry chefs of the Caffetteria Luca in Bronte, the kingdom of pistachios. The highlight was the cutting of the made in Sicily delicacy with Michel Curatolo as the protagonist together with the producer Aurelio De Laurentis, the director Enrico Vanzina, the honorary president of the organizing committee Sandro Bottega and Gherardo Manaigo, director of the Hotel de la Poste which hosted the event . “There are at least four generations involved – explains the organizer Michel Curatolo – the Nations Award is at the forefront when it comes to giving the right recognition to cinema, the one that speaks to the hearts and stomachs of people, which marks an era. The “cinepanettone” can be considered a turning point, a fundamental stage that introduced new acting and even lexical models. And this is why a real reunion was born with the protagonists in a setting that could only be Cortina d’Ampezzo. The presence of maestro Carlo Vanzina was very welcome and it will be an honor to reward the producer Aurelio De Laurentis who announced the release of a restored version of Christmas Vacation, together with some interpreters of the famous film such as Jerry Calà and Stefania Sandrelli”. The guests, from De Laurentis to Vanzina, Calà and Sandrelli themselves, told various anecdotes underlining their connection with Cortina d’Ampezzo and Sicilian culture. In this regard, the little scene between Sandro Bottega and Stefania Sandrelli is curious, with life stories linked to cinema and the passion for wine culture at its centre. Curatolo in turn received an award from the Cortina Hoteliers Association.