We Have a Pope tops Nastri d’Argento nominations

by Vittoria Scarpa

30/05/2011 - With seven nods, Nanni Moretti’s We Have a Pope [trailer, film focus] dominates the nominations for the Italian Film Critics’ 2011 Nastri d’Argento Awards, which will be presented on Saturday June 25 at Taormina’s Teatro Antico.

Comedies nonetheless take pride of place among the films picked as this year’s finalists (five per category): indeed, with six nominations each, Luca Miniero’s Welcome to the South [trailer] and Massimiliano Bruno’s Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare [trailer] are the next two films with the most nods.

They’re followed by Saverio Costanzo’s The Solitude of Prime Numbers [trailer] (five nominations) and, with four nominations, Pasquale Scimeca’s Malavoglia, Claudio Cupellini’s A Quiet Life [trailer, film focus], Michele’s Placido’s Angel of Evil [trailer], Aureliano Amadei’s 20 Cigarettes [trailer] and Paolo Genovese’s two comedies The Immature [trailer] and La Banda dei Babbi Natale [trailer].

In the Best Director category, contenders include Marco Bellocchio (Sorelle Mai [trailer]), Costanzo (The Solitude of Prime Numbers), Cupellini (A Quiet Life), Moretti (We Have a Pope) and Scimeca (Malavoglia).

Meanwhile, competing for Best Debut Director are Amadei (20 Cigarettes), Bruno (Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare), Ascanio Celestinis (The Black Sheep [trailer]), Edoardo Leo (18 Years Later [trailer]) and Alice Rohrwacher (Corpo Celeste [trailer, film focus]), with the latter still basking in her Cannes acclaim.

Best Actress nominees are Paola Cortellesi, Angela Finocchiaro, Donatella Finocchiaro, Isabella Ragonese and Alba Rohrwacher, while those for Best Actor are duo Claudio Bisio and Alessandro Siani, Raoul Bova, Kim Rossi Stuart, Toni Servillo and Emilio Solfrizzi.

Vying for Best Supporting Actress are Carolina Crescentini, Anna Foglietta, Marta Gastini, Valentina Lodovini and the duo Anita Caprioli and non-professional Pasqualina Scuncia (Corpo Celeste). Best Supporting Actor nominees are Giuseppe Battiston, Giorgio Colangeli, Geppy Gleijeses, Ricky Memphis, Maurizio Mattioli and Rocco Papaleo.

Battling it out in the Producers category are "giants" Medusa and Cattleya (Welcome to the South) and Pietro Valsecchi (What A Beautiful Day [trailer]), alongside Moretti and Domenico Procacci (We Have a Pope), trio Corsi-Romoli-Bonivento (20 Cigarettes) and Fabrizio Mosca (A Quiet Life; Into Paradiso [trailer]).

The Nastro of the Year Award will go to Mario Martone’s Italian Unification-themed We Believed [trailer, film focus] (winner of seven David di Donatello 2011 awards – see news), while the European Nastro Award will be presented to French actor Michel Piccoli,for his great performance in We Have a Pope.

Finally, the nominees for Best European Film are Another Year [trailer, film focus] by Mike Leigh, The King’s Speech [trailer, film focus] by Tom Hooper, In a Better World [trailer] by Susanne Bier, Potiche [trailer] by François Ozon and Of Gods and Men [trailer, film focus] by Xavier Beauvois.

(Translated from Italian)