"Strangeness" triumphs at Nastri d'Argento and is the film of the year

Sicily has always been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for cinema. From its hills to its coast, the island has attracted world-renowned filmmakers who have shot iconic films. This year, Sicilian cinema has reached new heights, winning the title of Film of the Year to Silver Ribbons 2023 with La Stranezza by the director from Palermo Roberto Andò.

Set in Girgenti (ancient name of Agrigento) in the '20s, La Stranezza is a comedy with an ironic tone that tells the story of the protagonist Luigi Pirandello, played by Toni Servillo. Pirandello meets a couple of amateur actors, played by the Sicilian comedy duo Ficarra and Picone, engaged in the realization of a show. The two characters will unlock the creative vein of the master who will propose after a few months in the theater his work probably best known: "Six characters in search of author".

The national board of the Nastri d'Argento comments on the success of the Sicilian film: "Strangeness is a film that, playing intelligently on the keys of popular entertainment and higher culture, has been able to open a new road to comedy, always queen of the box office, but finally able to conquer the audience with the film reinterpretation of a metatheater exquisitely Pirandello in which breaks with elegance the spontaneity of an irresistible comedy. A strong project that has finally attracted the general public to the theatre, marking a turning point, not only in comedy, with a cultured and extraordinarily original idea”

The Silver Ribbon, which is the oldest Italian film award, confirms the success of La Stranezza that expresses all the vitality and excellence of Sicilian cinema. His victory at the Nastri d'Argento is a result that celebrates the Sicilian film art and its ability to tell unique and engaging stories, an invitation to discover and appreciate even more this extraordinary territory.