Ozpetek's Victory
- La Finestra di Fronte wins five but the jury appears to have ignored Ricordati di Me. Winners include Avati, Polanski and Procacci for Emanuele Crialese’s Respiro
The 48th edition of the Davids was was generous with all the favourites with Turkish-born Italian director Ferzan Ozpetek sweeping the boards and winning five Davids for his La finestra di fronte [+see also:
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interview: Ferzan Ozpetek
film profile] including best film, actor ( Massimo Girotti whose death coincided with the end of filming), actress, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, musical score and School David given by Italy’s students.
The best director accolade, however was for Pupi Avati and his Il cuore altrove.
A glaring omission was Gabriele Muccino who went home empty-handed despite receiving 10 nominations for Ricordati di me [+see also:
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film profile].
The jury’s attention to those (few, if truth be told) whose films that portrayed war and conflict was evident in the way it voted:Ozpetek’s film is about past events that simply cannot be forgotten, Roman Polanski’s WWII drama, The Pianist [+see also:
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film profile] , which won the best foreign film award is based on a real story and Enzo Monteleone’s re-evocation of the Italian tragedy that was the Battle for El Alamein took home three Davids, for best cinematography, costumes and sound.
Matteo Garrone, the rank outsider who collected nine nominations, won a David for the best original screenplay of this The Embalmer and the excellent Ernesteo Mahieux was voted best supporting actor. Piera Degli Esposti won best supporting actress for her work in Marco Bellocchio’s controversial My Mother’s Smile [+see also:
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film profile], a film which raised the Vatican's hackles.
As is traditional, the massed ranks of the Italian film industry took time out to remember those who are no longer with us: Massimo Girotti, the great Alberto Sordi, as well as Danilo Donati, who won two Davids for the extraordinary sets and costumes he created for Roberto Benigni’s Pinocchio [+see also:
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film profile].
Best new director was deemed to be Daniele Vicari for his Procacci-produced directorial feature debut, Velocità Massima, while fellow newcomer Emanuele Crialese was responsible for his producer, the prolific Domenico Procacci’s winning the best producer of 2003 accolade. The founder and leading light of Fandango scored a record 25 nominations for four films (Respiro [+see also:
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film profile], The Embalmer, Ricordati di me and Velocità Massima). An achievement that even Miramax honcho, Harvey Weinstein, would be proud of.
This year’s lifetime achievement Davids went to French icon, Isabelle Huppert who, when asked whether European cinema had a future, sagely replied "I hope so", and 87-year-old Hollywood superstar, Gregory Peck, whose Roman Holiday is part of cinema history. Peck’s award was picked up for him by his son, Anthony. Starting in 2004, the Davids will be twinned with Britain’s BAFTAs, France’s Césars and Spain’s Goyas, with the creation of a best European Film Award. It was also announced that the 2005 edition of the Davids will be held in Turin, site of the Winter Olympics.
