| The First Beautiful Thing | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Paolo Virzì |
| Produced by | Paolo Virzì |
| Written by | Paolo Virzì Francesco Bruni Francesco Piccolo |
| Starring | Valerio Mastandrea |
| Cinematography | Nicola Pecorini |
| Editing by | Simone Manetti |
| Distributed by | Palisades Tartan |
| Release date(s) | 15 January 2010 |
| Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
The First Beautiful Thing (Italian: La prima cosa bella) is a 2010 Italian drama film directed by Paolo Virzì, produced by Medusa Film, Motorino Amaranto and Indiana Production, released in Italy on 15 January 2010. The film stars Micaela Ramazzotti, Valerio Mastandrea, Claudia Pandolfi and Stefania Sandrelli – who played roles in Italian films, such as Bertolucci’s The Conformist and Pietro Germi’s Divorce, Italian Style.
On 9 November 2010, the film opened at the Cinema Italian style Film Festival in Los Angeles.
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The film tells the story of the Michelucci family, from the nineteen-seventies to the present day: the central character is the stunningly beautiful Anna, the lively, frivolous and sometimes embarrassing mother of Bruno and Valeria. Everything begins in the Summer of 1971, at the annual Summer beauty pageant held at Livorno’s most popular bathing establishment. Anna is unexpectedly crowned “Most Beautiful Mother”, unwittingly stirring the violent jealousy of her husband. From then on, chaos strikes the family and for Anna, Bruno and his sister Valeria, it is the start of an adventure that will only end thirty years later. Bruno ends up living in Milan after managing to escape from Livorno and his mother. He will return to his hometown at the end of the film to be at his mother’s side during her very last days.
The film was nominated for 18 David di Donatello Awards, and won Best Screenplay (Paolo Virzì, Francesco Bruni, Francesco Piccolo), Best Actress Micaela Ramazzotti Best Actor Valerio Mastandrea. 4 Silver Ribbon, Director of the best film Paolo Virzì, Best screenplay, Best Actress Stefania Sandrelli and Micaela Ramazzotti, Best Costume Gabriella Pescucci. The film was nominated for the European Film Award for Best Director.[1] It was selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards,[2] but it didn't make the final shortlist.[3]
In July 2010, La prima cosa bella (The first beautiful Thing) won four Silver Ribbon awards: Director of the Best Film of the Year (Paolo Virzi), Best Actress Micaela Ramazzotti and Stefania Sandrelli, Best Screenplay Paolo Virzi, Francesco Bruni, Francesco Piccolo) and Best Costume Design to the Oscar winner Gabriella Pescucci. The film was screened at some international film festivals including the Open Roads, New York, the Shanghai International Film Festival, the Annecy Cinéma Italien Film Festival and the NICE Italian Film Festival, San Francisco.