21/10/2005

Cristina Comencini and her film Don’t Tell [+see also:
trailer
film profile] will represent Italy in the Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film. The 17 members of the Oscar committee were forced to reconvene after Saverio Costanzo’s debut film Private was barred by the Academy for not having been at least partially shot in Italian.

This exclusion brought on some controversy: First Aurelio De Laurentiis, president of the National Film Producers’ Union, withdrew his film, Manuale d'amore (directed by Giovanni Veronesi), stating that Academy’s rules were anachronistic, and today director Antonietta De Lillo followed suit, withdrawing her film, Il resto di niente.

Produced by Cattleya and RAI Cinema, Comencini’s film is now in the running to become one of the five finalists that will compete for the aforementioned Oscar; the finalists which will be disclosed by the Academy next January 31. Two members of the Selection Committee, De Laurentiis and Angelo Barbagallo (president of the Independent Producers’ Associations), have expressed their satisfaction over the choice: "Comencini’s film has garnered both critical and audience acclaim, as well as a wonderful reception at this year’s Venice Film Festival, where Giovanna Mezzogiorno won the Best Actress Award. We will work hard, together with the entire Italian film industry, to promote the film to the Academy, so that it will receive the attention it deserves."

(Translated from Italian)