TORONTO – Italians have spearheaded invention for centuries if not millennia, grouping in of course the exploits of their Roman ancestry. From musical instruments – the piano, violin and cello – to technological devices like the radio, telephone and microchip, their contributions are not only numerous but meaningful, advancing the trajectory of human achievement in multiple fields. In no other domain however have Italians endowed the world with more ingenuity and imagination than in the realm of art – across several disciplines. 

Ergo, it should come as little surprise that the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film was not only inaugurated for the sole purpose of awarding an Italian Filmmaker [Vittorio De Sica for Shoeshine 1947] but has subsequently been awarded to Italy the most times in history – 14 in total. Since 1947, Italian films have been nominated in the Foreign Film category 33 times, winning 14. Some memorable wins include The Bicycle Thief, La Strada, 8½, Amarcord, Cinema Paradiso and Life is Beautiful.

These aren’t simply great films; they are works that gripped movie audiences the way connoisseurs of renaissance art ogle at a Caravaggio. One might even muse that Caravaggio would’ve been a filmmaker had camera technology existed in the 16th century. Such is the allure of a moving picture, and after winning the Silver Lion Award at this year’s Venice Film Festival, Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio” might become Italy’s 34th Oscar Nominee for Best Foreign Film.

The film is set in 1944, Vermiglio, a remote mountain village. The plot: The arrival of a deserter into the family of a local teacher changes everyone’s lives when he falls in love with the teacher’s eldest daughter. The film takes its title from the name of a mountain village in the Italian Alps, which was home to Delpero’s family for generations. When interviewed post nomination, Delpero had this to say about how she was handling the honour: “At moments like this, I think about a life lesson I learned from rock climbing. You should never look up or down, only at the piton you’re hammering in. Otherwise, you risk being overwhelmed by the abyss. For me, it helps to remember that I must always focus on the task at hand, which, in this case, is making it to the shortlist. Now, I’ll just do my job and do it as best as I can”.

The “job” Delpero refers to is the campaign to get “Vermiglio” to the finish line – to become 1 of 5 Oscar nominees come next February. To do that her film must overcome 63 film submissions from all over the world. And to edge them out, “Vermiglio” will need ample funding to rent theaters, organize screenings and hire film reps to bring voters to watch the film.

The selection committee, overseen by Film Italia, had chosen “Vermiglio” for its “ability to depict past Italian rural life, the sentiments and feelings of which remain universal and current”. For Delpero, representing her country will be humbling, and a potential Oscar Nomination (or win) icing on the cake. But like all impassioned artists, she’ll know that the real reward is the opportunity to make art. Or moreover, as Amedeo Modigliani once said, “Art exists only to communicate a spiritual message”.

Vermiglia Poster courtesy of Lucky Red/Cinedora Production Company; photo of Benigni and Loren courtesy of Getty Images    

Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix