Filming of the film dedicated to Tony Gaudio is underway

In recent days, the United States has started shooting the documentary “Forgotten OscarAbout the life of cinematographer Gaetano “Tony” Gaudio who was born in Cosenza He soon entered the world of cinema in Los Angeles, and in 1937 won an Oscar for “Ivory Black” by Mervyn LeRoy.

Documentary film dedicated to the life of Tony Gaudio

the documentaryDirected by Alessandro Nucci and produced by Open Fields Productions, it focuses on the extraordinary story of the first Italian to win an Academy Award, ahead of the most famous De Sica, Fellini, Lorraine, Benigni, Sorrentino or Calabrian Mauro Fiore. .

Gaetano GaudioHe said “Tony“, in Cosenza in 1883, the same city in which, together with his younger brother Eugenio and his older brother Raffaele, he began his career in the family painting workshop, on Corso Telesio, one of the few firms present in southern Italy since the second half of the ‘800, in the same Art Nouveau building where you can still see the sign “Foto Gaudio” and on which a few months ago a painting commissioned by Open Fields itself, the Calabria Film Commission, the province and municipality of Cosenza celebrate this glorious beginning. But in 1906, drawn by the dream of American cinema, the two younger brothers decided They soon emigrated to the USA: they soon worked with leading Hollywood directors and actors of the day, winning Tonys – after the untimely death of their brother Eugene – five nominations for the first Academy Award and, in 1937, the coveted statuette.

the documentaryco-produced by Officina38 and Broken Typewriter Productions, filmed between Calabria – where Gaudio was born and had his first professional experiences – Piedmont – where Gaudio allegedly developed his skills as a cinematographer, in collaboration with one of the first and most important production companies of the time, Ambrosio Film of Turin – and the United States, where he signed on to shoot cult films such as Malay Shadows He became a pioneer and innovator in lighting and filming techniques, and a point of reference for great singers such as Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, and Norma Talmadge.

In the United States, filming takes place between New York – where Gaudio landed, common to many Italian immigrants at the time, with his arrival on Ellis Island – Los Angeles Where he lived most of his life San Francisco, where he retired and died in the fifties. The search for the missing Oscar will also begin here: the statuette given to Tony Gaudio in 1937 and lost after his death. The scenic reconstruction of the investigation will be conducted by Italian-American actor Howard Ray, in the cast of the latest Netflix series ‘Incastrati’.

the resume In the United States it will end at the end of January and will see the participation of important figures from the world of international cinema and the Italian-American community in Los Angeles, including: Oscar-winner Mauro Fiore, also a native of Calabria and winner. In 2010 to shoot the movie “Avatar”. Oscar winner Richard Edlund, known for his special effects in films like “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones,” Mariana Gatto, director of the Italian American Museum in Los Angeles; So are film professors Jonathan Koontz of the University of California and Patrick Keating of the University of Texas.

The story will not only follow the story of this very important figure from Cinema historywhich is still unknown to most people, but also an analysis of the phenomenon of immigration that prompted many Italians, between the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century, to choose the United States as their new home, chasing itThe American dream Very well represented by one Hollywood which in the Gaudio years began to establish itself as a mecca of world cinema and a veritable dream factory.

“The Forgotten Oscar” – Contribution provided Calabrian Film Commission Foundation In collaboration with the National Cinema Museum of Turin, the Tony Gaudio Foundation for Cinematic Arts and the American Society of Cinematographers and sponsored by the Municipalities of Cosenza and Turin – it will be completed by the summer of 2023 and will be distributed via radio and professional broadcast. Broadcast platforms starting in the fall.