President Sergio Mattarella on
Monday conferred three special David di Donatello awards on the
60th anniversary of the yearly Academy of Italian Cinema (ACI)
film awards ceremony, which is being held tonight at the De
Paolis studio in Rome.
The three special awards went to actress Gina Lollobrigida
and directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani.
Mattarella called them "symbols of Italian cinema" and
expressed "the country's gratitude" towards them.
Lollobrigida, 88, was one of the highest.profile European
actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, and went on to second
careers as a photojournalist and sculptor.
The Taviani brothers, also in their late 80s, have won top
European prizes including the Palme D'Or at Cannes and the
Golden Bear in Berlin during their long and illustrious joint
career.
The David di Donatello candidates traditionally visit the
president on the day of the awards ceremony, akin to Italy's
Oscars.
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said Italian cinema is
making a comeback, with 46% of market share in terms of tickets
sold, and that the government is getting behind the domestic
film industry.
"We increased resources for the international tax credit,
which went from nine million euros in 2013 to 13 million in 2014
and 26 million in 2015," Franceschini said in a message on the
occasion of the awards ceremony.
He added a government's film industry bill is now before
the Senate, and that it wants a new law passed this year because
the current one dates back to 1949.
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