Italian TV drama on women fighting Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia wins Berlinale Series Award
An Italian TV drama on women fighting the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia on Thursday won the Berlinale Series Award at the Berlin Film Festival, the first such sward from a major film fest for a TV production, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The Good Mothers, produced by Disney+, tells the tales of women who have dared to challenge the Calabrian Mob, Italy's richest and most powerful mafia.
It is directed by Julian Jarrold and Elisa Amoruso and produced by Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Harriet Spencer for House Productions and by Mario Giananiande Lorenzo Gangarossa for Wildside, a part of the Fremantle group.
Based on the bestseller of the same name by journalist Alex Perry, it features a brilliant young prosecutor called Anna Colace (Barbara Chichiarelli) who comes up with the idea of attacking 'Ndrangheta through the bosses' wives, mothers and lovers.
It takes its cue from the true story of Lea Garofalo (Micaela Ramazzotti), who had testified against her husband and Mob boss Carlo Cosco (Francesco Colella), in order to start a new life with her daughter Denise (Gaia Girace), only to be caught and killed by 'Ndrangheta in 2009.
Anna goes on to discover the fictinal cases of Giuseppina Pesce (Valentina Bellè) and Concetta Cacciola (Simona di Stefano), two very different women united by a common will to rebel against the mafia, ANSA report said.
The original jury statement
“The Good Mothers captured us with its multi-layered characters that are treated with care and allow to evolve before our very eyes. We were moved, anxious and, at times, breathless," according to the Berlinale website.
"The series creators have been meticulous in recreating an authentic and detailed world, presented by a stellar cast, with performances that made our hearts skip a beat.
The beautiful cinematography, production design and locations contribute to the ultra-realistic feel of the show, which is only right, considering it is based on true events and on real life characters – the courageous women who stood up to decades of oppression and misogyny and helped bring down the Calabrian mafia,” the website added.
The Team of the winning series of the first Berlinale Series Award, The Good Mothers are: Daniel Frigo (country manager The Walt Disney Company Italia), Elisa Amoruso (director), Julian Jarrold (director), Alessandro Saba (head of productions The Walt Disney Company Italia)
The Berlinale Series Award is the first award at an A-festival to be established specifically for a series. With the introduction of Berlinale Series in 2015, the Berlinale was the first A-list festival worldwide to do justice to changing viewing habits and the importance of serial storytelling.
Seven series were nominated for the Berlinale Series Award, which was presented on Wednesday, February 22, at Zoo Palast.