The awards ceremony took place yesterday (15 June). The Golden Film, in that Roman Via Veneto which is a timeless symbol in the history of Italian cinema. The award is aimed at all technical and artistic workers, voted by a jury made up of 260 professionals. The recognition was born in 2011 from an idea of set designer and director Enzo De Camillis together with FITeL (Italian Federation of Free Time) and is an important point of reference for the protection of cinema professions and support for the cine-audiovisual industries in Italy. This year the award takes on an even stronger symbolic value, because it arrives a few months after the unpleasant incident of Donatello’s Davids, in which the workers were relegated to the basement of Cinecittà now sadly known. The controversy raised by costume designer Sergio Ballo was supported in the following days by a large part of the entertainment world – including directors and actors – who had openly expressed solidarity and support for their colleagues awarded in unedifying conditions.
BETWEEN ART AND CRAFTSMANSHIP
The theme is always the same: the inadequate recognition of the intrinsic value that the cinema professions have – all of them – in the making of a film. We still tend to consider it professionalism series A and series Bas if directors, screenwriters and actors could give life and substance to their ideas without those who actually contribute to their realization. The Golden Film awards prizes in fourteen categories, ranging from production manager to camera operator, through to stage seamstress. And then chief electrician, sound effects creator, weapons master, special effects technician and many others. “Trades and professions – as stated in the presentation of the award – authentically and historically placed between art and craftsmanship at the highest level, the show being a training ground for creativity which sees as protagonists not only those who are in direct contact with the public, but also all those professionals who make their creation possible”.
COLLABORATIONS
Thanks to this prize, in short, it is possible to reconstruct the whole production chain of the cine-audiovisual sector, valorising the work of those who work behind the scenes but are then forgotten in the credits. Or it passes, yes, but too quickly and after the writing end. Since 2016, the Golden Film has also rewarded Portuguese technicians and trades in Lisbon and Bulgarian ones in Sofia. While since 2017 it has become a collateral prize for the Venice International Film Festivalrecognizing the professions of those professionals who collaborated in the creation of the films competing at the Festival.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
The Golden Film Every year it recognizes a lifetime achievement award to those artists who have particularly contributed to the development of Italian cinema. This year it went to Michele Placido, Elena Sofia Ricci and the director Sergio Martino.
