Dec. 17 – Director Edoardo Leo won with his “Buongiorno Papà ” the 23rd NICE City of Florence prize. The film won the majority of votes from the American public at the NICE Festival, a festival of emerging Italian cinema abroad, held Nov. 11-17 in New York and in San Francisco, Nov. 11-18. The festival is organized by New Italian Cinema Events (NICE), directed by Viviana del Bianco and Grazia Santini. The actor, writer and director Edoardo Leo said he was pleased with the recognition received, a confirmation for Italian cinema in the US. Overseas, the film was received with enthusiasm because of a story that has to do with family ties, responsibilities, and true values. The cast includes Raoul Bova, Marco Giallini, Nicole Grimaudo, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, Alessio Cicchetti and Edoardo Leo. “The award is a great signal and it is not the first one I’ve been given,” notes the director. In 2010, NICE brought the Roman director’s debut film “Diciotto Anni Dopo” in the United States and Russia. On that occasion, he won the audience award in 4 festival circuits (Seattle and San Francisco in 2010, Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2011). “Buongiorno Papà” was produced by Lucisano and distributed by Medusa. The actors “are like friends I’ve known for years – says Leo, who adds – I am convinced that you can make good movies by working with commitment and perseverance, putting aside all special privileges. I don’t call myself an artist but a good craftsman; I’m a thespian. I’m not Sorrentino nor Garrone, but I try to make the most of my passion, taking care of details just like a skilled craftsman.” In “Buongiorno Papà,” Leo puts on screen funny characters and tells of a man with great charm and confidence who finds out he is the father a teenage girl with a rocker grandfather in tow. “I love stories of weird families and of a past that comes back to haunt characters. Nothing autobiographical: this time I wanted to tell the lack of responsibility of an entire generation, where positive values are represented by female characters, strong women with their feet firmly on the ground,” says Leo, who says he is ready for new commitments. “I constantly write and I think there is a promising season ahead, with four upcoming films. I have so many plans and aspirations; I’d like to one day work with Sergio Castellitto.” Finally, Leo comments on Italian cinema abroad: “it is often said that our film industry is in crisis, but events such as these confirm that across the border people continue to look with interest at Italian films. Of course, the golden age of Italian cinema, the one that brought to fame Rossellini, Visconti, and De Sica, is difficult to replicate. A Fellini is born once every 50 years. Maybe we should try to avoid comparisons with that period and ‘educate in movies’ future generations. This cinema crisis also comes from the bad habit of watching movies illegally on the Internet. We should start from there: go to the movies more often, share the vision, and have respect for those who worked for its creation.”
