(Reuters) — Italian drama “The Great Beauty” won the Oscar for best foreign language film at the 86th annual Academy Awards on Sunday (March 2), capping its successful awards season run in the United States and Europe.
The film, directed by Paolo Sorrentino and considered the favorite to win the Academy Award, follows an aging writer’s reflections on life and his search for meaning among Rome’s idle high society.
Sorrentino accepted the award alongside the producer of the film, Nicola Giuliano.
It was the first Oscar for Sorrentino and the 11th win for an Italian film since foreign language film became a competitive category in 1956, the most of any country. Italian films earned three additional Academy Awards before that time.
In his acceptance speech, Naples-born Sorrentino gave a nod to Italian director Federico Fellini, former Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona – who once played for Naples soccer club – his wife and the central focus of his film, Rome.
