David di Donatello
David di Donatello Awards | |
---|---|
Description | The best of Italian and foreign motion picture productions |
Date | 1955 |
Country | Italy |
Presented by | Accademia del Cinema Italiano (Academy of Italian Cinema) |
First awarded | 1956 |
Website | www |
The David di Donatello Award, named after Donatello's David, is a film award presented each year for cinematic performances and production by L'accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI) (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 24 categories as of 2006. Italy is also famed for its annual Venice Film Festival.
It is the motion picture equivalent to the Academy Award for the cinema, Premio Regia Televisiva for television, the Premio Ubu for stage performances, and the Sanremo Music Festival for music.
History
Following the same criteria of the Oscars, the David di Donatello Awards (known by the moniker "Donatellos"[1]) were established in 1955 and first awarded in Rome on July 5, 1956.[2] Created by a cultural club (then called The Open Gate), the aim was to honour the best of each year's Italian and foreign films.
Similar prizes had already existed in Italy for about a decade (for example, the Silver Ribbons), but these were voted for by film critics and journalists. However, the Donatellos have been and are awarded by the people in the industry: screenwriters, performers, technicians, producers and so on.
After Rome, from 1957 to 1980, the ceremonies were held at the Greek Theatre in Taormina, during Taormina Film Fest, then twice in Florence, and finally returned to Rome, always with the support of the President of the Republic and now with the collaboration of the Rome City Council Cultural Policies Department. During the years the ceremony was held in Taormina during the 1950s, it was organized by journalist and film producer Michael Stern who later went on to found The Michael Stern Parkinson's Research Foundation in New York City.
The founding organization, now called the David di Donatello Organization is fully functional and works in concert with and thanks to the contribution of the Italian Ministry of the Performing Arts and the Ministry for Cultural Properties and Activities.
The presidents have successively been Italo Gemini (the founder), Eitel Monaco and Paolo Grassi. Currently, it is presided over by Gian Luigi Rondi who has worked with the organization since its inception.
The prizes are awarded primarily to Italian films, with a category dedicated to foreign language films.
In 2015, it was announced that both the eligibility period and the award ceremony date would change in the coming years. In 2016, the ceremony was brought forward to April. For the 2017 ceremony, the eligibility period will be March–December 2016. For the 2018 edition, the eligibility period will be the 2017 solar year (January to December).[3][4]
Presidents
President | Beginning of mandate | End of mandate | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Italo Gemini | 1955 | 1970 | |
Eitel Monaco | 1971 | 1977 | |
Paolo Grassi | 1978 | 1980 | |
Gian Luigi Rondi | 1981 | September 22, 2016 | President to Life since November 25, 2009 |
Giuliano Montaldo | November 4, 2016 | reigning ad interim | President ad interim since November 4, 2016 |
Trophy
The trophy is in the form of a gold David statuette replica of Donatello's famous sculpture, on a square malachite base with a gold plaque recording the award category, year and winner.
The 1956 David by Bulgari, awarded to Gina Lollobrigida for Beautiful but Dangerous was auctioned at Sotheby's in 2013.[5]
Award categories
- David di Donatello for Best Film
- David di Donatello for Best Director
- David di Donatello for Best New Director
- David di Donatello for Best Screenplay
- David di Donatello for Best Producer
- David di Donatello for Best Actress
- David di Donatello for Best Actor
- David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress
- David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor
- David di Donatello for Best Cinematography
- David di Donatello for Best Score
- David di Donatello for Best Original Song
- David di Donatello for Best Set Designer
- David di Donatello for Best Costumes
- David di Donatello for Best Makeup
- David di Donatello for Best Hair Design
- David di Donatello for Best Editing
- David di Donatello for Best Sound
- David di Donatello for Best Digital Effects
- David di Donatello for Best Documentary Feature
- David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film
- David di Donatello for Best Short Film
- David Giovani Award
Retired awards
- David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director
- David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor
- David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress
- David di Donatello for Best European Film
See also
References
- ^ "Oscar's Foreign Cousins". Variety. Variety Media. December 9, 1998. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
- ^ Laviosa, Flavia (January 29, 2015). "David di Donatello 1956–2016: Sixty Years of Awards" [Call for Papers] (PDF). Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Intellect. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ "David di Donatello, cambiano le date per il 2016 e il 2017 – LoudVision". Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "David di Donatello: cambiano le date". Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Gold and malachite 'David'". Sotheby's.
External links
- Official website Template:It icon
- Official website Template:En icon
- David di Donatello 1956–2016: 60 Years of Awards. Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies (2016), 4 (2), Intellect, ISSN 2047-7368
- David di Donatello Awards at Film Movement
- David di Donatello Awards at Internet Movie Database