Virzì’s The First Beautiful Thing sets out to conquer Hollywood
Italy has chosen Paolo Virzì’s The First Beautiful Thing [+see also:
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Produced by Medusa Film with Motorino Amaranto and Indiana Production, the film by a director who better than others knew how to reinterpret the tradition of the commedia all'italiana (Italian-style comedy) was well received by critics and audiences, with total box-office takings of €6.3m.
After the David di Donatello awards for Best Screenplay (Virzì, Francesco Bruni and Francesco Piccolo), Best Actor (Valerio Mastandrea) and Best Actress (Micaela Ramazzotti), The First Beautiful Thing received the Silver Ribbon Critics’ Award for Best Film of the Year in June. It is also among the 46 films shortlisted for the European Film Award 2010 nominations (the final nominees will be announced on November 6 at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain).
Virzì’s film beat off nine other contenders considered by a selection committee set up, in agreement with the Awards Academy, by ANICA. It comprised previous Oscar-winners Gabriele Salvatores and Dante Ferretti, critics Alberto Crespi, Roberto Escobar and Alessandra Levantesi, journalist Gloria Satta, producers Conchita Airoldi, Angelo Barbagallo, Aurelio De Laurentiis, Adriano De Micheli, Mario Gianani and Fulvio Lucisano, distributors Paolo Ferrari and Andrea Occhipinti and Director General for Cinema Nicola Borrelli.
The nominations will be announced by the Academy on January 25, 2011. The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 27 in the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.
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