29/10/2018 - Rome Film Fest’s only award goes to Edoardo De Angelis, while the Best Film award in the Alice nella città section goes to the British film Jellyfish

Edoardo De Angelis’ The Vice of Hope [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] was the film most loved by audience members at the 13^th Rome Film Fest, which wrapped up on Sunday, 28 October. The fourth feature film by the Neapolitan director – whose previous film, Indivisible [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Edoardo de Angelis
film profile], won six David di Donatello awards and six Nastri d'Argento awards – won the BNL Audience Award thanks to votes cast by viewers using the official Festa del Cinema (RomeFilmFest) app and festival website. "A film that shows courage, both due to the story it tells and how the talented director Edoardo De Angelis tells it," commented Antonio Monda at the festival's final press conference, where the artistic director took the opportunity to reveal some data regarding this year’s edition: 266 screenings, 91 films from 30 countries around the world, +6% coverage compared to 2017, +13% international press coverage and a surge in presence on social networks, among which Instagram (+48 %) and YouTube (+30%) stand out in particular. 

Alice nella città, the parallel and independent section dedicated to new generations, instead proclaimed the British film Jellyfish [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: James Gardner
film profile] by James Gardner Best Film, "an honest and harsh film which manages to focus on a situation with the appropriate level of severity," stated the young jurors. The film also won a special mention for actress Liv Hill. The Best Actor award went to the French actor Thomas Blanchard for his performance in The Elephant and the Butterfly [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amélie van Elmbt
film profile], while the sceptre for Best First Film went to The Harvesters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Etienne Kallos
film profile] by Etienne Kallos. The Lazio Film Commission awarded its prize, reserved for Panorama Italia productions filmed in Lazio, to a film about migrants and zombies entitled Go Home - A casa loro by Luna Gualano. Numbers also grew for the Alice section, which is now in its 16^th edition: compared to last year it raked in €7,000 more in revenue, welcomed 9.87% more viewers, with media coverage growing by 11% for TV and 12% on the Web.

All Awards: 

Official Selection

BNL Audience Award
The Vice of Hope [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Edoardo De Angelis (Italy)

Alice nella città

Young Adult - Competition

Best Film
Jellyfish [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: James Gardner
film profile] - James Gardner (UK)

Special Mention
Ben is Back - Peter Hedges (USA)

Best Actor
Thomas Blanchard - The Elephant and the Butterfly [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amélie van Elmbt
film profile] (Belgium/France)

First Film Jury - My Movies

First Film Award
The Harvesters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Etienne Kallos
film profile] - Etienne Kallos (South Africa/France/Poland/Greece/Switzerland/Hong Kong)

Special Mention for Best Actress
Liv Hill - Jellyfish

Lazio Film Commission Award
Go Home – A casa loro - Luna Gualano (Italy) 

International Short Film Competition – Best Short Film
Beauty - Nicola Abbatangelo (Italy)

From Long to Short - Leone Film Group Award
Il mondiale in piazza - Marco Belardi (Italy)

Istant Stories Alice Cinemotore Award
Another Me - Ilaria Marchetti (Italy)

(Translated from Italian)