Actress Paola Cortellesi on Tuesdaygot Rome's top civic honour, the Lupa Capitolina (CapitolineShe-Wolf), for her record-breaking debut film C'è Ancora Domani(There's Still Tomorrow) on domestic violence and hopes offemale emancipation in postwar Rome.
Presenting the award to the Roman-born actress for a film thatrecently passed Life Is Beautiful in all-time box officetakings, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said "Paola Cortellesi lovesRome, and she succeeded in recounting our city in her film.
"Here is a democratic and political film. Paola Cortellesicarried out an extraordinary and very necessary operation.
"The reaction (to it) has been an emotional, intellectual, civicand democratic participation, and what it aroused is the mark ofhow necessary this film was".
Cortelesi, 50, previously mainly a comic TV and film actress,replied: "I'm very honoured by the words that Mayor Gualtierisaid about my work and that of my team, for what we have done inthese years.
"I'm honoured because I'm a Roman and this is my city. And Ithanks the inhabitants of Testaccio, the only quarter where Ihadn't filmed until now. If I have managed to do something goodit's thanks to the care with which my family brought me up."She concluded, to loud applause: "My mum is here, my father isno longer with us but as a Roman he'll be laughing it off with a"bella de papà" (daddy's darling in Roman dialect)".
C'e' Ancora Domani on December 29 surpassed the year's cultphenomenon Barbie as the highest-grossing film at the Italianbox office in 2023.
The black-and-white film, telling the domestic drama of anabused housewife in post-war Rome and confronting issues ofpatriarchy and women's empowerment in the year Italian women gotto vote for the first time, has now taken almost 33,00,000euros, while Greta Gerwig's film starring Margot Robbie as themost famous fashion doll took 32,122,000 euros.
The Capri, Hollywood film fest also recently named Cortellesi'European Filmmaker 2023' following the success of her film,while it has emerged that C'e' ancora domani had overtakenRoberto Benigni's Oscar winning classic Life Is Beautiful infifth place in the all-time Italian box office standings forhome-grown films, with the first four slots occupied by Pugliacomic Ceccho Zalone's hits.
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