Taormina Celebrates its 70th Anniversary

In the Antico Teatro in the Sicilian town of Taormina, the 70th edition of the Taormina Film Festival got off to a lively start, with the Nastri d’Argento Awards ceremony, amid a mix of comedy and controversy.

The comedy was on hand with the loudest applause of the evening going to Carlo Verdone and Christian De Sica (above), two “pillars of Italian comedy” as they were introduced by Pilar Fogliati, star of “Confidenze,” and “Romeo Is Juliet.” Pilar herself was a recipient of her first Nastro d’Argento. The Nino Manfredi awards were given by the late actor’s son and film director Luca Manfredi to Emanuela Fanelli, last seen in Paola Cortellesi’s box office hit “There’s Always Tomorrow” as well as to Claudio Bisio, the actor-director who sent a video message of thanks.

Other absent awardees were Margherita Buy and Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore who received a special career prize. One guest who organizers might have wished had sent a video message was Luca Barbareschi, the actor, director and producer of the David Mamet-scripted “The Penitent.” Bounding on stage, Barbareschi seemed first intent on livening up proceedings but soon disconcerted host Laura Delli Colli with a rant about how films need to be more entertaining and less political and some general complaints about the state of the industry before dedicating his award to his “dear friends” David Mamet and Roman Polanski, whose “The Palace” Barbareschi produced and appeared in. Aside from his long acting career, Barbareschi was also a member of the Italian parliament, representing Silvio Berlusconi’s party from 2008-13.

The award for best newcomers went to Beatrice Grannò, who appeared in the second season of “The White Lotus” (filmed in Taormina) and Nicolas Maupas, whose Rai-Netflix show “Mare Fouri” (The Sea Beyond) has made him into a national star. Alessio Vassallo, Maurizio Lombardi and Giovanni Veronesi also received prizes, which are given by the Union of Italian Film Journalists.

The 70th edition of the Taormina Film Festival runs from July 12-20.