Cannes '08: Italy celebrates 'new generation' of filmmakers

Italian filmmakers won the first and second runner-up prizes at the Festival de Cannes to nobody's surprise Sunday.

If anything, pundits suspected that directors Matteo Garrone ("Gomorra") and Paolo Sorrentino ("Il Divo") could chalk up additional wins, particularly a best actor prize for their shared leading man, Toni Servillo. At the awards news conference, after the prizes were granted, Garrone even took a moment to share the spotlight with his fellow Italian:

"I'm also very happy to be here alongside Paolo Sorrentino, because he's someone I have a great deal of respect for, even if our styles differ. Our taste and passion for filmmaking unite us. Lastly, the fact that two Italian films are award winners is important on an international level. I am proud to be one of those two directors."

Awww. Now that's ama il prossimo tuo come te stesso. Not to say that everyone in Italy is all that pleased with the country's new cinematic ambassadors. After all, the two directors, each in his own way, hold corruption in their homeland up to unflinching scrutiny. One commentator even accused Garrone and Sorrentino of washing Italy's dirty laundry on the Croisette.

Others back in the boot, however, are celebrating Italy's double victory in Cannes. One reporter for the daily newspaper La Repubblica in Rome wrote:

"In an industry that seemed to be fading ... suddenly two directors who have yet to turn 40 have shown that a new generation of filmmakers is born looking at our country's reality, its shadows and shames, without fear."

And to that we say, congratulazioni.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Photo: Paolo Sorrentino ("Il Divo") with Matteo Garrone ("Gommora"). Credit: WireImage