Capri, Hollywood Film Fest: Italian Oscar Entry ‘Io Capitano,’ About African Migrants, to Receive Humanitarian Award

Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano (Me Captain in English), which was recently chosen as Italy‘s entry for this season’s best international feature Oscar competition, will be celebrated with the Humanitarian Award at the 28th Capri, Hollywood International Film Festival later this year, the fest announced Sunday. The award will be accepted in-person by Garrone and the film’s stars, Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall.

The film — which premiered in September at the Venice International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Lion for the direction by Garrone (2008’s Gomorrah) and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for the performance by Sarr — tells the story of a Senegalese teenager’s desperate quest to get from Dakar to Europe.

“Io Capitano is well deserving of the Capri Humanitarian Award, as it is an important work of art encouraging inclusion and solidarity among human beings and shows the utmost respect for individuality and cultural diversity,” the Oscar-winning screenwriter Bobby Moresco, who is the honorary chair of this year’s Capri, Hollywood fest, said in a statement. “The film emphasizes the importance of brotherhood and the need for sensitivity towards those whose existence is laden with discomfort and distress in large parts of the world, and whose struggle for a better life needs to be acknowledged and supported by the rest of the world.”

Fest founder-director Pascal Vicedomini, who previously dedicated the 2016 edition of the fest to African migrants, added in a statement: “We’re pleased to warmly welcome the protagonists of a work that has touched the hearts of international audiences beyond all expectations. Unfortunately, the European Film Academy’s regulations don’t allow young actors Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall to be eligible for awards, despite their extraordinary performances and amazing achievements. We hope that the regulation will be amended in consideration of the realities of today’s film world and the world at large.”

The next edition of the Capri, Hollywood fest, which takes place on Capri, an island off the coast of Naples that has long been a favorite for tourists and filmmakers (1963’s Cleopatra was largely shot there), will run Dec. 27-Jan. 2, in the thick of the awards season, as always.