Rome, Sep 28 (IANS/AKI) Director Emanuele Crialese’s film about the plight of migrants landing on Italy’s Lampedusa island from Africa will be the country’s contender for the 2012 Best Foreign Film Oscar, a jury decided Wednesday.
The film titled ‘Terraferma’ (Dry Land) is Crialese’s fourth movie. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Venice Film Festival earlier in September.
‘I am very happy and honoured, it’s something I did not expect but hoped for,’ Crialese said on his film’s selection.
Like his 2002 film ‘Respiro’, the movie tells the story of Sicilian fishermen who opt to rescue boat people from Africa and fall foul of the local coastguard.
A real Ethiopian refugee, identified only as Timnit T, played the part of an illegally rescued pregnant woman. She now lives in northern Europe.
The five Oscar nominees will be announced Jan 25 ahead of the Academy Awards Feb 26.
‘Terraferma’ was chosen over seven movies including Nanni Moretti’s ‘Habemus Papam’ and Giuseppe Gagliardi’s ‘Tatanka’.
–IANS/AKI
pm/vm
