ROME - - The 63rd Globo d’Oro cinema awards ceremony, organised by the Associazione della Stampa Estera in Italia (the Foreign Press Association in Italy), took place on Wednesday night at the stunning Villa Massimo. 

 The star-studded event was hosted in the grounds of the Villa by Alina Trabbatoni and Claudio Lavanga. The night opened with a spectacular bar and canapés with actors, journalists and members of the foreign press dressed to impress. This was then followed by the open-air awards ceremony and a lavish formal dinner. 

 Three films were shortlisted for each category and clips from each were shown briefly before the winner for each award was anounced. Among the many awards were newer categories, for example Best TV Series and journalists and others in the wider industry were also thanked for their contributions. 

 It featured both Italian and international celebrities in the film world, such as John Malkovich who won Gran Premio della Stampa Estera for his role in “The New Pope” and was honoured by Maurizio Lombardi, who played Cardinal Mario Assente in "The New Pope". When Malkovich was joined on stage by Lombardi, Lavanga joked “It’s not everyday we have a pope and a cardinal on stage!”

 Malkovich, upon receiving his award, remarked: “I’ll just say a quick thank you for this honour which I really didn’t expect.” He credited his Italian partner Nicoletta Peyran for her support before explaining his upcoming plans: “I’ll go on the road with my colleagues in Vienna. Then I’m directing a play in Latvia.” 

 Saul Nanni won the Best Young Up-And-Comer Award for his role in the film “Brado” and although he was unable to attend the awards ceremony in person, remarked “I have to thank everyone who has helped me with this project which has been so complicated and so incredible.”

 Director Giuseppe Fiorello collected the award for Best First Work for his film “Stranizza d’amuri”, evidently overwhelmed, playfully remarking to the hosts during his acceptance speech “Ask me some questions!” Fiorello then thanked his wife, Eleanora Pratelli, claiming it was her who produced the film. On a more profound note, Fiorello noted “I had this urgency to tell the story of these guys. I am dedicating it [the film] to my mum.”

 The award for Best Screenplay went to Ivano De Matteo and Valentina Ferlan for the film ‘Mia’ with De Matteo commenting “It’s my first award. This is a true prize."

 Fabrizio Gifuni told the audience, upon collecting the award for “Esterno Notte” for Best TV Series “This is such an important story, not only for Italy but for Europe. Thank you to all the incredible actors.”

 A touching tribute was then paid to the late actor and director Francesco Nuti who passed away last month. His daughter, swept up in the emotion, expressed her gratitude “Thank you to everyone and I’m sorry but I don’t have many other words.” His wife recounted her many fond memories with him: “We went on many trips together and we went to the Sanremo Festival together. I’m a little melancholy but I’m putting on a brave face.”

 Carlo Vardone then paid a touching tribute, via video, to Nuti, referring to the homage by Globo d’Oro as “an act of great sensitivity”, adding “Francesco was a great actor. Francesco was esteemed and admired. He was a friend and a colleague.”

 Eduardo Leo won Best Actor for his role as Sergio in "Mia", remarking that the film “has a lot to say about escaping rhetoric” and that it explores “long years of psychological difficulty." He then movingly dedicated his award to “everyone who has no one."

 The Villa Massimo is a German cultural institute which has hosted artists from Germany in Rome for almost a century. Thanks to scholarships provided by Villa, artists in the fields of visual art, literature, music and architecture can live and work in Rome for a year. For this purpose, spacious workshops with adjoining flats are made available to them in the park of Villa Massimo. In 2003, the Villa reopened to the public and currently holds exhibitions, concerts and lectures with the Academy's scholarship holders and guest artists.

 The ceremony concluded with the award for Best Film which went to “Rapito”, directed by Marco Bellocchio. Bellocchio thanked the production team and cast for “their generosity."

 The spectacular night was a resounding success and was a heartfelt yet celebratory night to all those at the forefront of cinema, whether in Italy or beyond. 

 es