Giuseppe Tornatore's THE BEST OFFER Wins Big at the Embarassing Italian Oscars

Do you know the worst awards show in the world? They are the David di Donatello -- sort of an Italian Academy Awards -- the only awards where the presenters talk more than the winners, where the hosts confuse one category for another, where the guests leave halfway through leaving noticeably empty seats. 

They are the only awards in the universe where an actress like Margherita Buy can win six times (and no, she's not the Italian Meryl Streep), where the Career Achievement recipient (this year, the screenwriter Vincenzo Cerami) is absent, where the Foreign Film honours are picked up by distributor representatives, and where the actual Best Italian Film of the year (Bertolucci's Me and You) goes home emptyhanded.

Boring and embarrassing as usual, at least we had a good film like Giuseppe Tornatore's The Best Offer as the Grand Winner this year. Better luck next time, Bernardo. Here's the complete list of winners:

ANIJA - THE BOAT by Roland Sejko: Best Documentary

BALANCING ACT by Ivano De Matteo: Best Leading Actor (Valerio Mastandrea)

THE BEST OFFER by Giuseppe Tornatore: Best Film, Best Director, Youngs' David, Best Art Director, Best Costume Designer, Best Musician

DIAZ - DON'T CLEAN UP THIS BLOOD by Daniele Vicari: Best Producer, Best Editing, Best Sound (Remo Ugolinell, Alessandro Palmerini), Best Visual Effects (Storyteller-Mario Zanot)

DORMANT BEAUTY by Marco Bellocchio: Best non-leading Actress (Maya Sansa)

L' ESECUZIONE by Enrico Iannaccone: Best Short Film

EVERY BLESSED DAY by Paolo Virzì: Best Original Song

A FIVE STAR LIFE by Maria Sole Tognazzi: Best Leading Actress (Margherita Buy)

THE INTERVAL by Leonardo Di Costanzo: Best Debut Director

REALITY by Matteo Garrone: Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up (Dalia Colli), Best Hairdressing (Daniela Tartari)

VIVA LA LIBERTÀ by Roberto Andò: Best non-leading Actor (Valerio Mastandrea), Best Screenplay