Italiano
Today, Tuesday, October 24th, the “Il Viaggio in Italia” Award, under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism and ENIT – the Italian National Tourist Board, was announced at the 18th edition of the Rome Film Fest. The accolade went to The Empire of Nature: the Colosseum Park by Luca Lancise and Marco Gentili. Presented in the Special Screenings section, the film is a Sky and Brandon Box production made in collaboration with the Colosseum Archaeological Park, instituted by the Ministry of Culture. Maria Ciani, Vice Head of Staff at the Ministry of Tourism, handed the award to the filmmaker Luca Lancise and the producer Matteo Urbinati.
The jury composed of Stefania Ippoliti (Director of the Toscana Film Commission), Tiziana Rocca (Producer and Director of the Filming Italy Festival), and Maria Giuseppina Troccoli (Special Administrator of the Roma Lazio Film Commission) released the following statement about the award to the documentary: “Conveying an idea of our country, its culture, beauty, and the uniqueness of its offerings, without resorting to the tritest iconography and clichés is not easy, but managing to make a documentary film that shows one of the famous tourist attractions in the world in a surprising new light – that is a rarity, and deserves a medal. These are the emotions and feelings that we shared as members of the jury for the “Il Viaggio in Italia” Award, handed out on the occasion of the eighteenth edition of the Rome Film Fest, and those emotions led us to choose, unanimously, the winning film for this year, The Empire of Nature: the Colosseum Park, for the magic, the sensations, and the wonder this film made us feel.”
L’IMPERO DELLA NATURA. UNA NOTTE AL PARCO DEL COLOSSEO
by Luca Lancise, Marco Gentili, Italy, 2023, 100’
In the shadow of the Colosseum, amid the traces of the Empire, there lies an ecosystem that is absolutely unique, and emerges when silence falls on the ruins of the Roman Forum. The film grants us exclusive access to the Colosseum Archaeological Park, where we will discover the lives of legions of unimaginable animal species that have turned the age-old ruins into their new home.
We’ll experience close encounters with emerald-green toads, prehistoric crabs, hermit rabbits, hornets, and many other surprising inhabitants of this hidden planet, where the only human beings – after the tourists go home – are the monks who live in the historic convents on the Palatine Hill. The evolution of these animals in the most ancient core of Rome show us the ways in which nature adapts to chaotic urban environments.
