Venice Film Festival: Pasinetti Awardsโฃ Celebrate โขItalianโ Cinema’s Strength
The Venice Film Festival’s press corps has announced its Pasinetti Awards, recognizingโ excellence within โคthe Italian films showcased across all sections of the exhibition. This year’s โฃawards highlight a especially strong year for actresses, following the standout performance of Barbaraโค ronchiโค in Elisa and culminating in a remarkable collection of leading female roles in Italianโ cinema. Journalists laudedโข theโ overall โคquality of the selection, emphasizing the vibrancy and diversity of the Italian โcinematic landscape presented by director Alberto Barbera,โ and urging โคaudiences toโ support these films in theaters.
Grand Prize: โBest Film
Grace by Paolo Sorrentino โ- A โFremantle production,โค written and directed by Sorrentino, produced by Annamaria Morelli for Theโ Apartment (a Fremantleโ group company) and number 10, with distribution handled โby Piperfilm.
The jury praised Grace as “an crucial film, surprising and unexpected, magnificently โdotted with small twists and turns. Irony and lightness illuminate a profound existential reflection. Rich with details that echo Sorrentino’s signature style, the film is, as always, a journey embracing both politics and personal life. The torment of doubt,expertly woven โinto โขthe script,prompts contemplation on moralโค love,forgiveness,andโค theโฃ inescapable sense โofโข duty in both public and private spheres.”
Best Leading Actor
Toni Servillo – Grace by Paolo Sorrentino
The award recognizes Servillo’s exceptional performanceโ as a character grappling with lingering sentimental doubts and โthe difficulty of processing grief. The juryโ noted his ability to portray “the โขmelancholy of inner solitude alongside theโ tension of his final โdays inโ office – and the possibility โof rediscovering faith in himself and in others, whom he constantly questions.โฃ Throughout every moment of the presidentialโ mandate,theโข balance between reflectionโฃ and emotion is perfect,delivering a sublime acting performance โคeven during an unexpected and passionate interlude.”
Pasinetti โขSpecial Prize
Anna Ferzetti – Grace by Paolo Sorrentino
Recognizing aโค truly impactful supporting performance,โ the Specialโฃ Pasinetti Prize was โawarded to Anna Ferzetti for her โportrayal of Dorotea. The jury described her as “a precious advisor to herโค presidential father,acting as a barometer forโฃ his moods โand anxieties.โข Herโ dynamicโ with โขServillo’s character alternates between โcomplexโข technical debate and โintellectual connection, consistently encouraging โขhim to overcome melancholy and the rigidity that threatens to define his leadership.โฃ With both sweetness and determination, Ferzetti’s Dorotea is powerfully present, even โขin her absence, embodying โtheโค patience of a daughter alongside the unwaveringโค resolve of a lucid and determined jurist.”
Best Leading Actress
Valeriaโข Bruni โtedeschi – carried โข by Pietro marcello
The award celebrates Bruni โขTedeschi’s “immense and extraordinarily modern” interpretation of Eleonora Duse.โ The โjury lauded her performance โas a powerful and unique portrait, blending the spirit of theโฃ theater with the โstrength of cinematic acting, creating a โฃvital, passionate, and โtenacious depictionโฃ of the iconic actress.
The Pasinettiโ Awards will be formally presented to the winners in Rome.