''La Pivellina'' (The Little One) is a 2009 Austrian feature film debut directed by

Tizza Covi Tizza Covi (1971, in Bolzano) is an Italian screenwriter and director. She lived in Paris and Berlin before studying photography in Vienna. After finishing her studies she went to Rome where she worked as a photographer. Since 1996 she works tog ...

and

Rainer Frimmel Rainer Frimmel (born 11 July 1971 in Vienna) is an Austrian director and photographer. After studying psychology in Vienna he graduated as a photographer. He has received scholarships in New York City, Paris and Rome for his photographic work. Si ...

. The film premiered at the

2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...

in the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

, where it has been awarded the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European Film.

Plot

Abandoned in a park, the two-year-old girl Asia is found by Patty, a circus woman living with her husband Walter in a trailer park in San Basilio on the outskirts of Rome. With the help of Tairo, a teenager who lives with his grandma in an adjacent container, Patti gives the girl a new home for an uncertain period of time. However, Walter is concerned that they may be accused of kidnapping the girl, and he plans to report Asia's presence to the police. Patty receives a letter from the mother in which she announces that she will collect the girl two days later. They have a farewell party, but the mother does not show up.

Cast

* Patrizia Gerardi as Patty * Walter Saabel as Walter * Asia Crippa as Asia * Tairo Caroli as Tairo

Release

''La Pivellina'' has been screened in more than 130 International Film Festivals (including Berlinale,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

, New York,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, Palm Springs) and received over 35 awards. ''La Pivellina'' is being released in more than 20 countries worldwide (including USA, Argentina, France, Italy, Brazil, Germany). The film was selected as the Austrian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beg ...

, but it didn't make the final shortlist.

Awards (selection)

* 2009 may,

Festival International du Film de Cannes The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

:''Prix Europa Cinemas Label - Best European Film'' * 2009 June
Pesaro Film Festival
:''Premio "Lino Miccichè" - Best Feature Film'' * 2009 aug
International Film Summerfest Durres
:''Golden Gladiator for Best Feature Film'' * 2009 aug, Annecy Cinéma Italien :''Prix d'Interprétation Féminine (Patrizia Gerardi) - Best Actress '' :'' Prix Spécial du Jury '' * 2009 oct
Kyiv International Film Festival Molodist
:''Ecumenical Jury Prize'' :''Grand Prix "Scythian Deer" for Best Feature Film'' :'' Yves Montand Prize for Best Acting (Patrizia Gerardi)'' * 2009 oct, Mumbai International Film Festival :''Jury Grand Prize '' * 2009 oct,

Valdivia International Film Festival The Valdivia International Film Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de Cine de Valdivia (FICV o FICVALDIVIA)) is an international film exhibition and competition, held annually in the city of Valdivia, Los Rios region, Chile. The festival ...

:'' Mejor Película - Best Feature Film '' :'' Premió de Público - Audience Award '' * 2009 nov,

Leeds International Film Festival The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is the largest film festival in England outside London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November at various venues throughout Leeds, West Yorkshire. In 2015, the festival welcomed over 40,000 visitor ...

:'' Golden Owl Award for Best Feature Film'' * 2009 nov, Gijón International Film Festival :''Premio "Principado de Asturias" Mejor Largometraje - Best Feature Film '' :'' Premio Mejor Actriz (Patrizia Gerardi) - Best Actress '' * 2009 nov, Castellininaria Festival Internazionale del Cinema Giovane Bellizona :'' Premio “Ambiente e Salute: Qualità di Vita” '' * 2010 jan, Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers :'' Grand Prix for Best Feature Film '' :'' Prix Mademoiselle Ladubay Long Metrage - Best Actress (Patrizia Gerardi) '' * 2010 mar,

Diagonale The Diagonale (Festival of Austrian Film) is a film festival that takes place every March in Graz, Austria. The festival was initially held under the auspices of the Austrian Film Commission in Salzburg from 1993 to 1995 but moved to Graz in 1998 ...

:'' Grand Prix for Best Austrian Feature Film 2009/10 '' * 2010 apr
Indie Lisboa
:'' Distribution Award Caixa Geral de Depósitos'' * 2010 apr, Festival Cinematográfico Internacional de Uruguay :'' Mencione del Jurado '' :'' Mencione del Jurado FIPRESCI Uruguay'' * 2010 April, Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente :'' Premio UNICEF '' * 2010 June,

Nastri d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

: :'' Menzione Speciale Migliore Opera Prima'' * 2010 July
Bimbi Belli Roma
:''Premio Miglior Film - Best Feature Film '' :'' Premio Miglior Attrice - Best Actress (Patrizia Gerardi)'' * 2010 July

:''Premio del Pubblico – Audience Award'' :''Premio Migliore Opera Prima'' * 2010 aug, Sarzana Film Festival :'' Premio "Cineforum Sarzana" Migliore Film - Best Feature Film''

References

Screendaily: La Pivellina wins Diagonale Grand Prix

Notes

# Karin Schiefer, AFC, April 2009
Tizza Covi & Rainer Frimmel: La Pivellina - Interview
# Natasha Senjanovic, April 27, 201
The Hollywood Reporter
# Bénédicte Prot, May 19, 2009
Cineuropa
# Jon Davies,2009
Cinemascope
# Pablo Suárez
Buenos Aires Herald
# Boyd Van Hoeij, May 19, 2009
Variety
# Jason Anderson
Eye Weekly

External links

*
Official Website

Austrian Film Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pivellina 2009 films Austrian drama films 2000s Italian-language films 2009 drama films