Scamarcio commented on the lack of recognition for Italian cinema in the main competition at Venice. 'I heard many good things about many Italian films in Venice. It's just a fortuitous coincidence, there's no reason. Sometimes juries make compromises, maybe Italians were penalized in a game of prize distribution,' he said. He added that Italy took two awards and that they are very happy to have received them. 'I'm sorry that there wasn't another Italian film, or two, winning some prize, but I'm very happy to have won,' he said.
The actor is in Turin to present 'I figli della scimmia', the film by Tommaso Landucci that opens in theaters on Thursday 17 September. Shot between Turin and Piedmont, the film was awarded at Venice with the best actor prize for Scamarcio and the best screenplay prize for Landucci and Damiano Femfert.
For Scamarcio, the film is also a return to a territory he knows well. 'Turin is a beautiful, cultural, elegant city. I have frequented Piedmont since the times of Freccia Nera. I also have small secret places that I frequent, many friends,' he said. Landucci said the choice of location was not random: 'I wanted to set the film in a province similar to mine, bourgeois, industrial.' For Landucci, Venice was a particularly significant passage. 'As a director one always dreams of making a film that goes to Venice. For me being in Orizzonti was beautiful,' he said. It was a return to the Festival after a very different experience: he had gone only once in 2009, for a film on which he was an assistant, and had slept in his car because he could not afford anything else.
At the center of 'I figli della scimmia' is also a human relationship that left a deep mark on the actor. 'It's full of love and sweetness, it manages to stage authentic characters. There's a sort of sincerity, the portrait of a special family in which we can all recognize ourselves,' Scamarcio said. He made particular reference to Andrea, with whom he shared work on set: 'Working with him was an incredible experience. On a human level it was unforgettable. It changed my awareness of how fortunate I am.' He added: 'Sometimes we get angry over futile things and seeing Andrea who, despite his difficult condition, arrived on set with crazy energy seems to me a fundamental life lesson.'
Scamarcio said the film can speak especially to new generations. 'We must make young people understand the importance of the themes of this film. Sometimes an honest, authentic, sincere film comes out, with the primary objective of creating human empathy,' he said.
The actor also intervened on controversies tied to the documentary 'Naza', screened in Venice. 'It's not the first time we see from this State a totally unacceptable behavior,' he said, referring to Israel's criticism. He chose not to comment on statements by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini about the Venice Festival. 'I don't want to talk about politics. This film is so delicate, beautiful. It's me who censors them,' he concluded.