How do you say Chalamaniacs in Italian?
The Italian cinema academy unveiled Friday that it will honor U.S. star Timothée Chalamet at this year’s David di Donatello awards, the Italian equivalent of the Oscars. The Dune and A Complete Unknown actor will receive an honorary David award for “cinematic excellence” at this year’s ceremony in Rome.
“Timothée Chalamet’s European origins and American background make him one of the most unpredictable and talented protagonists of international cinema today, capable of being both an auteur performer and a star generating trends and styles,” said Italian cinema academy president Piera Detassis in a statement. “The Academy is delighted to award him the David for Cinematic Excellence, which is meant to be an acknowledgement of the great actor of quality and innovative films, and, at the same time, of the global protagonist.”
Detassis noted that Chalamet’s international breakout came “thanks to a wonderful Italian film, Call Me by Your Name, directed by one of our most internationally acclaimed directors, Luca Guadagnino.”
Guadagnino’s adaptation, via a James Ivory script, of André Aciman’s classic gay coming-of-age romance, earned Chalamet his first Oscar nomination for his performance as the 17-year-old Elio, who falls for the much-older Oliver (Armie Hammer). Chalamet was 22 when he received the best actor nom, making him the third-youngest actor ever in the category. He picked up his second Oscar nomination this year, playing Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s music biopic A Complete Unknown.
Chalamet has stayed loyal to Guadagnino and to Italy, attending the Venice film festival for the premiere of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 1 in 2021 and again a year later with Bones and All (2022), a horror romance directed by Guadagnino and co-starring Taylor Russell. Both times, he set the Lido on fire, with wild crowds of fans along the red carpet screaming his name.
One expects the reception at the David di Donatello awards, which will be carried live on Italy’s public broadcaster Rai on May 7, will be a more civilized affair.