The Golden Graal Award to Andrea Chiodi

 The Golden Graal Special Rising star Award for theatre goes to Andrea Chiodi, the director from Varese. This is an important acknowledgement, after the two plays in celebration of the 150 years since the unification of Italy. and Angela Dematté’s work Stragiudamento, which was put on in Sacro Monte last summer.

The awards this year will be presented on Monday 12 March at the Bernini Hotel, in Rome.

“I dedicate this award to my father,” said Andrea Chiodi, as soon as he heard about the award, “and I strongly believe in the value of working well, and with a smile, which is what he taught me more than anybody else. This is a time when young people like me have to build things, given that some old people didn’t. I really believe in learning from the masters, but I believe even more in whose masters who can stand aside”. His consideration not only concerned the relationship between young and old, but also the value that he can bring to his hometown. “I’m bringing this award to my town, with the hope of building, in Varese, a solid foundation for a true, strong cultural plan, free of the usual intellectual, front room gatherings, that can look at the Italian and international panorama. This province should be appreciated, but sometimes should also be freed of the chaff … in short, I think it’s time to work hard and well. I’m trying, and this award gives me a good lift to continue working on in this way.”

The seventh year of the Golden Graal Awards will be directed by Marco Spagnoli and Pina Traini.

This year, the Awards, created in 2005 to celebrate the talent of young people who work in the world of entertainment, will not be given during an award night in an important theatre in Rome, but during a reserved dinner with the candidates, in perfect tune with the difficult atmosphere resulting from the cuts in culture and to the great uncertainty in this sector, without forgetting to celebrate the talent and the merits of the young stars of Italian entertainment.

As usual, there are also Special Awards being given, which have been created, this year, like every year, by Ottaviano Argenti:

Piera Degli Esposti: SPECIAL AWARD CINEMA & THEATRE

Esther Elisha: SPECIAL AWARD RISING STAR CINEMA

Freaks: SPECIAL AWARD RISING STAR WEB FICTION

Andrea Chiodi: SPECIAL AWARD RISING STAR THEATRE

Giovanni Scifoni: SPECIAL AWARD RISING STAR THEATRE

These are the nominations for the five awards chosen by the students of Italian cinema and theatre schools, in the categories of comedy and drama.

Golden Graal nominees

Cinema

Best actor – COMEDY

Luca Argentero – The Woman of My Life

Giuseppe Battiston – The Passion – Unlikely Revolutionaries

Pierfrancesco Favino – Unlikely Revolutionaries

Nicola Nocella – The Youngest Son

Alessandro Preziosi – Loose Cannons – Men Vs Women

Best actress – COMEDY

Laura Chiatti – I, Them and Lara

Giovanna Mezzogiorno – Basilicata Coast to Coast

Claudia Pandolfi – The First Beautiful Thing – Unlikely Revolutionaries

Micaela Ramazzotti – The First Beautiful Thing

Kasia Smutniak – The Passion

Best director – COMEDY

Luca Guadagnino – I Am Love

Luca Miniero – Welcome to the South

Ferzan Ozpetek – Loose Cannons

Rocco Papaleo – Basilicata Coast to Coast

Paolo Virzì – The First Beautiful Thing

Best actor – DRAMA

Stefano Accorsi – Kiss Me Again

Valerio Binasco – Noi credevamo (We believed)

Luigi Lo Cascio – Noi credevamo (We believed)

Vinicio Marchini – 20 Cigarettes

Michele Riondino – Noi credevamo (We believed)

Best actress – DRAMA

Paola Cortellesi – The Physics of Water

Carolina Crescentini – 20 Cigarettes

Isabella Ragonese – One Life, Maybe Two – Our Life – Another World

Luisa Ranieri – Dark Love

Maya Sansa – The Man Who Will Come – La pecora nera (The black sheep) – Another World

Best director – DRAMA

Aureliano Amadei – 20 Cigarettes

Alessandro Aronadio – One Life, Maybe Two

Ascanio Celestini – La pecora nera (The black sheep)

Claudio Cupellini – A Quiet Life

Daniele Lucchetti – Our Life

GOLDEN GRAAL NOMINEES

THEATRE

Best actor – COMEDY

Daniele De Angelis – Le belle notti (The Beautiful Nights)

Neri Marcorè – Un certo signor G (A Certain Mr G)

Pietro Sermonti – Donna Flor e i suoi due mariti (Donna Flor and her two husbands)

Alessandro Siani – Più di prima (More than before)

Filippo Timi – Il popolo non ha il pane? Diamogli le brioches (The people have no bread? Let them each cake)

Best actress – COMEDY

Federica Di Martino – Much Ado About Nothing

Caterina Murino – Donna Flor e I suoi due mariti (Donna Flor and her two Husbands)

Luisa Ranieri – L’oro di Napoli ( The gold of Naples)

Galatea Ranzi – La locandiera (The Innkeeper)

Amanda Sandrelli – Con il piede giusto (With the correct foot)

Best director – COMEDY

Andrea Buscami – L’avaro (The skinflint)

Cherubini, Pilozzi, Cherstich, Caroli – Bizzarra ( Bizarre)

Emma Dante – Le pulle

Fabio Grossi – Il piacere dell’onestà (The pleasure of honesty)

Giampiero Rappa – Sogno d’amore (Dream of love)

Best actor – DRAMA

Giovanni Anzaldo – Roman e il suo cucciolo (Roman and his puppy)

Alessio Boni – Il Dio della carneficina ( The God of massacre)

Ascanio Celestini – La fila indiana (In Single File) – Il razzismo è una brutta storia (Racism is a nasty story)

Elio Germano – Thom Pain (based on nothing)

Lino Guanciale – Nella solitudine dei campi di cotone, Sallinger e Voci sorde (In the loneliness of cotton fields, Sallinger and Dull Doices)

Best actress – DRAMA

Donatella Finocchiaro – La ciociara (The woman from Ciociaria)

Martina Galletta – Donna Rosita nubile (The unmarried Donna Rosita)

Eleonora Giovanardi – Donna Rosita nubile (The unmarried Donna Rosita)

Maria Paiato – Quattro atti profani (Four profane acts)

Anna Valle – Confidenze troppo intime (Too intimate confidences)

Best director – DRAMA

Marco Baliani – Piazza d’Italia (Italian square)

Valerio Binasco – Filippo

Ascanio Celestini – La fila indiana (In Single File) – Il razzismo è una brutta storia (Racism is a nasty story)

Daniele Salvo – Aiace (Ajax)

Roberta Torre – La ciociara (The woman from Ciociaria)