The cinema world is celebrating the Oscar win by Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty. In the press conference in Los Angeles after the ceremony, the director said “the Italian industry needs to do more” for the international market, because, he said “we have been making films for the local market for too long. I hope this award serves as a stimulus for Italian cinema.”
“This is the crowning of 15 years during which time Italian cinema experimented with new energies and new ideas,” ANICA president Riccardo Tozzi, said of the Academy Award victory. “The national cinema industry is proud to represent Italy abroad in this way. Sorrentino’s success is a diamond that the entire Italian film industry has carved in recent years, slowly conquering a 25 percent space in the market and becoming among the most widespread and awarded in international festivals.”
For Roberto Cicutto, the head of the Luce-Cinecittà institute, “the film won for its beauty and its capacity to connect with audiences across the globe. Paolo Sorrentino won with his group of actors (especially Toni Servillo) and technicians (especially director of photography Luca Bigazzi). Winners were also the Indigo Film producers (Nicola Giuliano e Francesca Cima) who have been investing determinedly in authors like Paolo and newcomers, who have been able to reconcile their independence with strong distributor Medusa. Now politics needs to do its duty. I hope they realise this time all sides need to be involved: entrepreneurs (ANICA), politicians (Mibac, Mise and ICE) and promotion systems (Luce-Cinecittà) in order to support the commercial aspects of distribution abroad too.”
Angelo Barbagallo, president of cinema producers at ANICA, celebrated the film’s triumph: “I would also like to congratulate Nicola Giuliano and Francesca Cima from Indigo Film, who produced The Great Beauty. For us Italian producers, it is a happy example of our ability to support and value the work of filmmakers and our industries’ talents.”
Andrea Occhipinti, president of distributors at ANICA, who also co-produced and distributed Il divo and co-produced This Must be the Place, is celebrating “the talent of a great artist who honours our cinema and shines great light on Italian culture across the entire world.”
Translated from Italian
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