04/04/2003 - The Polish-born director will be at Italian Cinema's top awards that will shortly be twinned with Spain’s Goyas, France’s Césars and the UK’s BAFTAs, with the creation of a European Award

Roman Polanski, the winner of this year’s best foreign film David di Donatello for The Pianist [+see also:
trailer
film profile], will be in Rome to receive the award from the Italian President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, at the gala event being staged on the evening of 9 April in the Auditorium.
Despite Steven Spielberg decision to decline the invitation to be the guest of honour at the Davids because of the ongoing war in Iraq, Italian Cinema's Big Night is going ahead and will be aired live on statebroadcaster’s flagship channel RaiUno.
The 150-minute show will feature a tribute to Alberto Sordi, a floor-show inspired by Chicago and the European nature of the event will be underlined by the presence of international stars like France’s Sophie Marceau, Daniel Auteuil and Pierre Cosso and perhaps even the UK’s Sir Michael Caine.
Gian Luigi Rondi, the president of the David Organisation, announced this year’s novelty was the establishment of an Italian Academy, based on the American and European counterparts. Rondi added that, in accordance with the EU Commission based in Brussels, the Davids would henceforth be “twinned” with Spain’s Goyas, France’s Césars and the UK’s BAFTAs and next year would see the introduction of a new David for Best European Film.