Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated drama Io Capitano about the odyssey of two young African men who decide to leave Dakar, Senegal to reach Europe, and Paola Cortellesi’s feminist dramedy C’è ancora domani [There’s Still Tomorrow] were both the big winners at Italy’s 69th David di Donatello Awards.
Io Capitano won best picture, director, producers, editor and cinematographer, among other prizes.
While receiving the statuette for the director, Garrone explained how the protagonists of the story were also co-directors, as he gave the floor to Mamadou Kouassi, an Ivorian activist that inspired the film. Kouassi called for a stop to deaths at sea and in Palestine.
C’è ancora domani won six Davids out of the 19 nominations including best directorial debut, actress, non supporting actress, screenplay and audience award. The film marked the directorial debut of actor Paola Cortellesi, who also stars in it. C’è ancora domani is shot in black-and-white and riffs on Italy’s neorealist past, albeit with a contemporary female empowerment angle.
Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall took the best foreign film award.
Veteran Italian stage and screen actress Milena Vukotic who worked with Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel and Andrei Tarkovsky, among other masters, bagged a special David.
Pop culture journalist, writer and TV personality Vincenzo Mollica also bagged a Special David.
The career honor went to Giorgio Moroder.
The Davids, Italy’s equivalent to the Oscars, were held at Cinecittà Studios in Rome.
