La Biennale di Venezia and Campari announce that the production designer Tonino Zera (The First King, Rose Island, Angel of Evil) is the recipient of the Campari Passion for Film Award of the 80th Venice International Film Festival (August 30th – September 9th, 2023).
The Campari Passion for Film Award, instituted five years ago at the 75th Venice Film Festival, seeks to highlight the remarkable contribution given by the director’s closest collaborators to the fulfillment of the artistic project that each film represents. Passion for Film attributes this award to these professional figures, who are more than just craftsmen: they are artists and co-authors of the films to which they offer the gift of their unparalleled talent. Over the years, the award has been given to the American film editor Bob Murawski, to the Italian cinematographer Luca Bigazzi, to the American jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, to the British production designer Marcus Rowland, and last year to the American artist and costume designer Arianne Phillips.
The ceremony for the award to Tonino Zera will take place on Saturday 2nd of September in the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema) at 9.45 pm, before the screening Out of Competition of The Palace (Italy/Switzerland/Poland/France, 100’) by Roman Polanski, starring Oliver Masucci, Fanny Ardant, John Cleese, Bronwyn James, Joaquim De Almeida, Luca Barbareschi, Milan Peschel, Fortunato Cerlino and Mickey Rourke, featuring Tonino Zera’s production design.
Tonino Zera says: “To receive the prestigious Campari Passion for Film Award during the Venice Film Festival is not only a personal honor, it is also a recognition of the importance of set design in the world of cinema. The award highlights the role played by visual narration, its ability to evoke emotions, and its power to transport audiences into the heart of a movie. Emotions that I have tried to convey in The Palace, directed by Roman Polanski, whose guidance and creative genius were a source of inspiration for me. To collaborate with such a visionary director was a boundless privilege. It was a journey of imagination and meticulous details. My thanks go to Alberto Barbera and Luca Barbareschi.”
Alberto Barbera, Director of the Venice International Film Festival, notes, “With almost one hundred TV and silver screen productions to his name, Tonino Zera has combined the more artisanal dimension of set design with the new possibilities offered by technological and digital innovation. Over the course of his thirty-year career, Zera has contributed to the modernization of film and advertising set design with curiosity and creativity, helping to give form to the imagination of the directors with whom he has worked, from his debut with Carlo Vanzina and Paolo Virzì to Spike Lee, Giuseppe Tornatore, Carlo Verdone, Francesco Patierno, Gabriele Muccino, all the way to Roman Polanski, who called on him to design the sets of his latest movie, The Palace. The production designer has shown particular versatility in reconstructing historical contexts, be they the post-war years of the television dramas De Gasperi, l’uomo della speranza by Liliana Cavani and Gino Bartali by Alberto Negrin, or the “far-right” Milan of the 1970s in the movie Vallanzasca – Gli angeli del male (Angel of Evil) by Michele Placido, for which Zera was nominated for a David di Donatello. Up to his production design masterpiece, Il primo re (The First King), directed by Matteo Rovere and set in the year Rome was founded. His talent for designing “vintage” recreations of historical eras has recently led to collaborations with Sydney Sibilia on the acclaimed L’incredibile storia dell’Isola delle Rose (Rose Island) and Mixed by Erry, confirmation of a professionalism that is open and responsive to every new challenge.”
“We are very proud to confirm the official Campari Passion for Film Award, created by Campari alongside the Artistic Direction of the Exhibition – announces Andrea Ceccarini, Aperitifs Marketing Director Campari Group – Sticking with the main theme that everything comes about through Passion, already understood as a fundamental element for inspiring Creativity, the Prize is aimed at showing an appreciation for the figures who, alongside the director, contribute to excellence when creating cinematic art. This year, in choosing the Italian production designer Tonino Zera, we have rewarded the a profession that is characterised by a distinct aesthetic and artistic sensitivity and the ability to combine passion, craft work, innovation, always looking ahead.”
