On August 31, 2025, in the Sala degli Stucchi at the Hotel Excelsior, the Filming Italy Venice Award and Tiziana Rocca, founder and creator of the event, honored two international cinema luminaries – Alicia Silverstone and Ferzan Özpetek.
The symbiosis between Rocca and the Venice Festival has developed over years, born from her experience organizing collateral events on the Venice Casino terrace, hosting international stars including Woody Allen, Meryl Streep, Sylvester Stallone, and George Clooney.
A professional and affectionate bond, passionate in nature, has inspired Rocca to promote cinematic excellence by creating the Filming Italy Venice Award. “An event that draws attention to the artistic aspect and cultural value of cinema in all its manifestations,” affirms Rocca, “without neglecting the industrial and productive context. Each year, the Filming Italy Venice Award honors those who breathe life into characters or direct sequences on screen, recognizing their artistic journey and presenting their future projects.”
The Venice Film Festival represents a touchstone for cinematic art, while with the Filming Italy Venice Award, Rocca aims to valorize cinema and disseminate its every dimension—not merely artistic—enabling communication of its vastness and celebration of its talents. The Venice Film Festival unites tradition and innovation, just as Rocca manages to renew the Filming Italy Venice Award annually, capturing the essence that drives cinema, honoring and rediscovering the excellence that has made cinema an authentic international passion, while maintaining steadfast
attention to themes of inclusion and gender equality.
“With the Filming Italy Venice Award, we valorize and celebrates works, talents, and productions distinguished by originality and artistic quality”, adds Rocca.
Giulio Base (Photo by Daniele Venturelli)
Rocío Muñoz Morales (Photo by Daniele Venturelli)
Over the years, she has succeeded in forming an influential platform in the audiovisual sector with a forward-looking eye toward new generations and female presence, in a marriage of purpose with other realities created by Rocca herself, such as Filming Italy Sardegna and Filming Italy Los Angeles, with the latter enabling
visibility for Italian excellence abroad.
This year, Academy Award winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph serves as ambassador for the award ceremony, while Italian actress Matilde Gioli was named the godmother of this edition. The Honorary President of the award is Franco Nero, who was honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Motion Pictures category in February 2025.
Photos Courtesy of Filming in Italy.
