The Accademia del Cinema Italiana announced the nominations for the 2012 Davide di Donatello awards last Thursday. Marco Tulio Giordana leads the pack with 16 nominations for his film Romanzo di una strage (Story of a Massacre). Nanni Moretti’s Habemus Papam (We Have A Pope) and Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must be the Place follow closely behind with 15 and 14 nominations respectively.
Released on March 30, Romanzo di una strage tackles the complex political intrigue surrounding the still unsolved bombing of Piazza Fontana in Milan in 1969. Though the film has not yet been released outside of Italy, it’s expected to be a contender in Cannes this year.
In Moretti’s humorous Habemus Papam, a cardinal who unexpectedly becomes pope meets with an unreligious psychiatrist to come to try to terms with his new job. This Must be the Place follows Sean Penn as a bored, retired rock star on a journey across America to find the Nazi officer who tormented his father in Auschwitz. Both films were nominated for the Palme d’Or at the last festival in Cannes.
All three films were nominated for best film, with the Taviani brothers’ Cesare deve morire (Caesar must die) and Emanuele Crialese’s Terraferma rounding out the group. Each director also received the best director nod, as did Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek for his film Magnifica Presenza (Magnificent Presence).
Similar to America’s Academy Awards, the Davide di Donatello awards honour the top films released in Italy each year. Winners receive a golden statue in the form of Donatello’s bronze Davide, stepping on the severed head of head of slain Goliath. The awards will be announced on the 4th of May.
