Women dominated Italy’s 70th David di Donatello Awards with Maura Delpero’s Venice Silver Lion winner “Vermiglio” taking top honors and Valeria Golino’s female empowerment drama “The Art of Joy” and Margherita Vicario’s directorial debut “Gloria!” also scoring multiple statuettes.
“Vermiglio,” which is set at the end of World War II in an Alpine village where the arrival of a soldier causes disruption in the dynamics between three sisters, was the night’s big winner taking best picture, best director, screenplay, producer, cinematography, sound and the David’s newly introduced casting category.
Golino’s “Art of Joy,” which is based on an epic, and highly erotic, feminist novel by the late Italian author and actor Goliarda Sapienza, took Davids for best non-original screenplay, best actress for rising star Tecla Insolia – who plays a woman named modesta who is born into an impoverished family in early 1900 and driven by a strong belief that she’s destined for a better life – and the non-supporting actress prize for Valeria Bruni Tedeschi.
Italian singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario’s directorial debut “Gloria!,” a vibrant musical comedy set in a late 18th century Venetian female orphanage where a young rebel named Teresa leads a group of performers to challenge classical canons and invent a precursor to pop music, scooped the best debuting director award and several other prizes, including best song and score.
Actor honors went to Elio Germano for his role in Andrea Segre’s “The Great Ambition” in which he plays late Italian politician Enrico Berlinguer, who led the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from 1972 until his death in 1984. Berlinguer nearly brought the PCI to power in the Italian parliamentary elections of 1976.
The David for best foreign film went to “Anora” by Sean Baker, who paid tribute to Italian cinema “of all genres from comedies to neo-realism” and to Italian actress Ornella Muti, who was also honored with a career David.
The Davids were held at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, which are undergoing a radical renewal and have become a magnet for Hollywood productions such as Mel Gibson’s “The Resurrection of the Christ,” which this summer will use its sprawling new Studio 22 facility as its main hub
See the complete list of 2025 David Awards winners below.
PICTURE
“Vermiglio,” Maura Delpero
DIRECTOR
“Vermiglio,” Maura Delpero
DEBUT DIRECTOR
“Gloria,” Margherita Vicario
PRODUCER
Francesca Andreoli, Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, Santiago Fondevila Sancet, Maura Depero, “Vermiglio”
ACTRESS
Tecla Insolia, “Art of Joy”
ACTOR
Elio Germano, “The Great Ambition”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, “The Art of Joy”
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Francesco di Leva, “Familia”
SCREENPLAY
“Vermiglio,” Maura Delpero
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Art of Joy,” Valeria Golino, Francesca Marciano, Valia Santella, Luca Infascelli, Stefano Sardo
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mikhail Krichman, “Vermiglio”
EDITING
Iacopo Quadri, “The Great Ambition”
DOCUMENTARY
“Lirica Ucraina,” Francesca Mannocchi
SHORT
“Domenica Sera,” Matteo Tortone
CASTING
Stefania Rodà, Maurilio Mangano, “Vermiglio”
SCORE
Margherita Vicario, Davide Pavanello, “Gloria!”
ORIGINAL SONG
“Aria!” from the film “Gloria!,” Margerita Vicario, Davide Pavanello, Edwyn Clark Roberts, Andrea Bonomo, Gianluigi Fazio
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Tonino Zera, Maria Grazia Schirripa, Carlotta Desman, “Le déluge”
COSTUME DESIGN
Massimo Cantini Parrini, “Le déluge”
MAKEUP ARTIST
Alessandra Vita, Valentina Visentin, “Le Déluge”
HAIR ARTIST
Aldo Signoretti, Domingo Santoro, “Le Déluge”
SOUND
Dana Farzanehpour, Hervé Guyader, Emmanuel De Boissieu, “Vermiglio”
DIGITAL EFFECTS
Victor Perez, “Napoli, New York”
AUDIENCE AWARD
“Diamonds,” Ferzan Ozpetek
BEST SHORT
BEST FOREIGN FILM
“Anora,” Sean Baker
YOUTH DAVID
“Naples, New York,” Gabriele Salvatores
CAREER DAVID
Pupi Avati
DAVID FOR CINEMATIC EXCELLENCE
Timothée Chalamet
SPECIAL DAVID
Ornella Muti
SPECIAL DAVID CINECITTÀ
Giuseppe Tornatore