Cristina Comencini's La Bestia nel cuore / Don't Tell (literally, "The Beast in the Heart"), has been chosen to replace Saverio Costanzo's Private as Italy's entry for the foreign-language Academy Award. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had rejected Private on the grounds that it had been filmed in a language other the Italian – Costanzo's film is set in the Middle East, and its dialogue is mostly in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Italy's potential second choice for the Oscars, Giovanni Veronesi's Manuale d'amore / Manual of Love, was taken out of consideration by its maker.
La Bestia nel cuore, the story of a woman who tries to come to terms with her past, stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno, winner of the Best Actress award at this year's Venice Film Festival, Alessio Boni, Luigi Lo Cascio, Angela Finocchiaro, Giuseppe Battiston, and Stefania Rocca. "I believe my film may be the right one to represent Italy at the Oscars," Comencini, daughter of director Luigi Comencini (Pane, amore e fantasia / Bread, Love and Dreams), was quoted as saying in La Repubblica. ". . . Part of me is unhappy that Private was deemed ineligible, but on the other hand I'm happy that I'm now in the running. . . . I'm happy that I'm representing Italy with a film shot in Italy, with many Italian actors."
Ninety-one countries were invited to submit films for consideration for the 2005 Academy Awards. All nominees will be announced on January 31, 2006, and the winners during the March 5 ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
2005 Chicago International Film Festival