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ISABELLA FERRARI AND FRANCESCA NERI ARE THE STARS AT THE “MARTINI PREMIERE AWARD” Donatella Finocchiaro and Filippo Timi take the awards Milan, 7th October 2009 – A procession of celebrities for the second “Martini Première Award” cinema prize celebrated yesterday evening in the marvellous setting of the Royal Palace’s Sala delle Otto Colonne. The exclusive location, provided for the occasion by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, the local authority councillor for entertainment and the arts , welcomed emerging Italian directors and actors, nominated by a high profile jury including the writer and scriptwriter Vincenzo Cerami (chairman) and Saverio Costanzo (a new entry), Natalia Aspesi, Carlo Freccero, Paolo Mereghetti, Anna Praderio, Milka Pogliani and Ugo Volli . The wonderful Camila Raznovich announced the prize winners. The first Martini Première silver cup was awarded to director Luca Guadagnino for “Io Sono l’Amore”(I Am Love), winner of the category “The most magnetic look” for his ability to achieve an effective mix of set design, photography, décor, costumes and even cookery to create an overall visual design for the mise-en-scène of a large middle-class Milanese family. The award for the best communications strategy went to “Ex” by Fausto Brizzi for his original promotional campaign “100 baci”(100 Kisses), a real web competition where visitors were invited to upload photos and videos of their kisses to the site, which would then be included in the film credits. The award for the most innovative film went to “Vincere”(Winning) by Marco Bellocchio (on stage with the leading actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno) for the intelligent and original use of library pictures and famous film sequences to tell the passionate story of Benito Mussolini and Ida Dalser. Special mention for “Vedo Zero” (I See Zero) by Andrea Caccia, the entire film was shot using mobile phones by 70 students from three high schools in Milan. Young talent was represented in the new prize category “The new docu”, open to any director under the age of 35 with a free choice of documentary topic. The winner was “Signori Professori” (Dear Teacher) by Maura Delpero, about schools and temporary teachers. The award was received by Lisa Bentini , one of the actresses in the short film, a teacher both on screen and in real life. Special mentions went to “Io, la mia famiglia Rom e Woody Allen” (Me, my Roma Family and Woody Allen) by nineteen-year-old Laura Halilovic, for her fresh, original and gently self-mocking portrayal of life in a small Roma community in Italy, and to “Pinuccio Lovero” by Pippo Mezzapesa, for the poeticism in his depiction of a “marginalised” figure from the south of Italy, and his ability to turn a paradoxical situation into an opportunity to analyze and understand current social realities. Much excitement, finally, for the winners of “The most beautiful Hollywood Face” category, chosen in cooperation with an ad hoc commission made up of Italian correspondents reporting from abroad. The actors deemed worthy of entering Hollywood’s star system are the sensual Italian beauty Donatella Finocchiaro, for her powerful stage presence and strong personality, and charismatic and talented Filippo Timi , hailed by the critics as the new face of Italian cinema. They were given the silver cup by Isabella Ferrari and Francesca Neri . The two internationally famous actresses brought glamour to this second Martini Awards ceremony and the hope that Milan might regain its role as the capital of cinema.
