1. ISABELLA FERRARI AND FRANCESCA NERI ARE THE STARS AT THE “MARTINI
PREMIERE AWARD”
Donatella Finocchiaro and Filippo Timi take the awards
Milan, 7th October 2009 – A procession of celebrities for the second “Martini Première Award” cinema
prize celebrated yesterday evening in the marvellous setting of the Royal Palace’s Sala delle Otto Colonne.
The exclusive location, provided for the occasion by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, the local authority
councillor for entertainment and the arts, welcomed emerging Italian directors and actors, nominated by a
high profile jury including the writer and scriptwriter Vincenzo Cerami (chairman) and Saverio Costanzo (a
new entry), Natalia Aspesi, Carlo Freccero, Paolo Mereghetti, Anna Praderio, Milka Pogliani and Ugo
Volli.
The wonderful Camila Raznovich announced the prize winners. The first Martini Première silver cup was
awarded to director Luca Guadagnino for “Io Sono l’Amore”(I Am Love), winner of the category “The most
magnetic look” for his ability to achieve an effective mix of set design, photography, décor, costumes and even
cookery to create an overall visual design for the mise-en-scène of a large middle-class Milanese family.
The award for the best communications strategy went to “Ex” by Fausto Brizzi for his original promotional
campaign “100 baci”(100 Kisses), a real web competition where visitors were invited to upload photos and
videos of their kisses to the site, which would then be included in the film credits.
The award for the most innovative film went to “Vincere”(Winning) by Marco Bellocchio (on stage with the
leading actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno) for the intelligent and original use of library pictures and famous film
sequences to tell the passionate story of Benito Mussolini and Ida Dalser. Special mention for “Vedo Zero” (I
See Zero) by Andrea Caccia, the entire film was shot using mobile phones by 70 students from three high
schools in Milan.
Young talent was represented in the new prize category “The new docu”, open to any director under the age
of 35 with a free choice of documentary topic. The winner was “Signori Professori” (Dear Teacher) by Maura
Delpero, about schools and temporary teachers. The award was received by Lisa Bentini, one of the actresses
in the short film, a teacher both on screen and in real life. Special mentions went to “Io, la mia famiglia Rom e
Woody Allen” (Me, my Roma Family and Woody Allen ) by nineteen-year-old Laura Halilovic, for her fresh,
original and gently self-mocking portrayal of life in a small Roma community in Italy, and to “Pinuccio Lovero”
by Pippo Mezzapesa, for the poeticism in his depiction of a “marginalised” figure from the south of Italy, and
his ability to turn a paradoxical situation into an opportunity to analyze and understand current social realities.
Much excitement, finally, for the winners of “The most beautiful Hollywood Face” category, chosen in
cooperation with an ad hoc commission made up of Italian correspondents reporting from abroad. The actors
deemed worthy of entering Hollywood’s star system are the sensual Italian beauty Donatella Finocchiaro, for
her powerful stage presence and strong personality, and charismatic and talented Filippo Timi, hailed by the
critics as the new face of Italian cinema.
They were given the silver cup by Isabella Ferrari and Francesca Neri. The two internationally famous
actresses brought glamour to this second Martini Awards ceremony and the hope that Milan might regain its
role as the capital of cinema.

2. The gala night was attended by numerous movie stars. Amongst others, Alba Rohrwacher, Cecilia Dazzi,
Daniela Virgilio, Valentina Cervi, Mandala Tayde and Giorgia Surina all treaded the pink carpet in the
Piazzetta Reale.
Martini Première Award 2009: winners and jury
After the awards ceremony, actors and directors moved on to the Terrazza Martini for the exclusive party
with Canadian singer Melanie Fiona’s live performance (she sings the remake of “La vie en rose” , sound-track
of the “La Vie en Rosato” commercial for the launch of the new Martini Rosato), who performed her hit song
“Give it to me right”, one of last summer’s hits, and other songs from the album “The Bridge”.
Melanie Fiona’s live performance
For further information:
Barbara Herlitzka
+39 011 8108325
bherlitz@bacardi.com
Viviana Lanzetti
+39 011 8108389
vlanzett@bacardi.com