Italy enters film for Oscar contention

ROME—A movie depicting the voyage of a Sicilian family from their homeland to America at the beginning of the last century was selected Monday as Italy's candidate for best foreign language film at the U.S. Academy Awards.
The Anica association of film producers selected "Nuovomondo," also known by its English-language title "Golden Door," by Emanuele Crialese after a morning meeting at their Rome offices.
"Nuovomondo" was shown in competition at last month's Venice Film festival, where it won praise by Italian critics. It stars Charlotte Gainsbourg alongside a cast of mostly unknown Italian actors and is largely scripted in strict Sicilian dialect.
In Venice, the movie won the Silver Lion for revelation, an award that the jury does not have to hand out but was given as a sign of appreciation for the movie.
Italy's choice for the past edition of the Academy Awards — a child-abuse drama called "Don't Tell" — won a nomination for best foreign-language movie.
Italy last won the Best Foreign Language Film in 1999 with Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful."—Agencies