Daily Front Row

2010 September 1

Gucci's Film Girls

Comments | | Print

Frida Giannini
NEIL RASMUS / PatrickMcMullan.com View Gallery

(NEW YORK) Gucci’s affinity for the film industry is well-documented: the brand has donated $1.5 million to Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation to restore films like La Dolce Vita and Il Gattopardo. Now, creative director Frida Giannini will lead the brand in a new cinema-centric project, the launch of the Gucci Award for Women in Cinema, which will be inaugurated at the 2011 Venice Film Festival. “Women have had an indisputable impact on filmmaking since the very early days of the industry,” said Giannini in a statement, “both onscreen and behind the camera, in all aspects of the art. The American film director Barbara Loden is a shining example, having written, produced, directed and starred in Wanda in 1970. It is a memorable example of breakthrough independent cinéma verité, which 40 years ago won the International Critics’ Prize at the Venice Film Festival. It is achievements such as Barbara’s that we hope to acknowledge and highlight through this new award.”

Giannini will take the role of jury president for the award, along with a jury of representatives from the film industry. The group will evaluate and rank the awards nominees, and a $25,000 scholarship fund will be awarded by Gucci to a leading film school in the name of the award’s winner. “The Venice Film Festival is delighted that Gucci is taking on the mantle from the Gucci Group, which has supported the art of film for the past four years,” said Venice Film Festival artistic director Marco Mueller. “Cinema has also played a vital part in Gucci’s 90-year history and we particularly appreciate the theme of women as their work and contribution to the industry should receive greater recognition.”