Italy names Shakespeare play docu-drama for Oscars
AFP
ROME- Italy on Wednesday nominated as its submission for Oscar for best foreign movie the Taviani brothers' docu-drama "Caesar Must Die" -- an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" staged in a prison.
"We are delighted but this is only the beginning of a beautiful journey, there is still a long way to go," the Taviani brothers said in a statement.
The actors of "Cesare deve morire" are inmates at the Rebibbia high security prison near Rome and the scenes of the casting for the play are particularly moving, featuring a succession of murderers, drug traffickers and mafiosi.
The film is shot in the cells, corridors and courtyards of the massive prison, mixing in the daily life of the prisoners with rehearsals for the play. The drama of Shakespeare's plot interweaves with the tensions of prison life.
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1977 for "Padre Padrone" and the Grand Prix in 1982 for "The Night of the Shooting Stars".
The sons of an anti-fascist lawyer from the town of San Miniato in Tuscany, the Tavianis are inspired by neo-realist master Roberto Rossellini and they often make socially engaged films reflecting Italy's social realities.
The Oscar ceremony is scheduled to take place on February 24, 2013.
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