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ROME -- Two of Italy's best-known directors and three up-and-coming talents are behind the best film nominees at this year's 2007 David di Donatello awards, organizers announced Tuesday.

In most previous years, one or two films have dominated the nominations for the David awards, Italy's top film honors. But this year's slate spreads the wealth between nearly a dozen productions nominated in more than one major category.

Among the leading lights are Ermanno Olmi's Centochiodi, which garnered the director his seventh David nomination in the best film category. The film is reported to be Olmi's last narrative film. Giuseppe Tornatore's La Sconosciuta (The Unknown) also was nominated for the top honor.

The films from emerging talents in the centerpiece competition are Emanuele Crialese's Nuovomondo (The Golden Door), which won a special jury prize at last year's Venice film festival; 2006 Cannes C.I.C.A.E. award winner Anche Libero va Bene (Along the Ridge) from Kim Rossi Stuart; and Daniele Luchetti's local boxoffice smash Mio Fratello e Figlio Unico (My Brother is an Only Child).

ROME -- Michele Soavi was given the award for best director for Arrivederci Amore, Ciao and up-and-coming actor and director Kim Rossi Stuart was given the prize for best actor in two of the year's top Italian films on the final day of the Taormina Film Festival. The 52nd edition of the Taormina event -- which ran June 20 through Sunday -- featured a less ambitious and almost exclusively Italian schedule this year after the festival's leading sponsor backed out at the 11th hour, leaving organizers with a 500,000 euro ($630,000) budget shortfall. There was no dominant film among the festival's 14 major awards, with no film appearing in more than two categories. The 36-year-old Rossi Stuart -- whose debut directorial effort Anche Libero Va Bene won accolades after screening at the recent Festival de Cannes -- was one of the stars of the Taormina event, taking home the Gian Maria Volonte Best Actor award for two acting roles: one from Anche Libero Va Bene and the other from Michele Placido's gangster film Romanzo Criminale (Crime Novel).

ROME -- Michele Soavi was given the award for best director for Arrivederci Amore, Ciao and up-and-coming actor and director Kim Rossi Stuart was given the prize for best actor in two of the year's top Italian films on the final day of the Taormina Film Festival. The 52nd edition of the Taormina event -- which ran June 20 through Sunday -- featured a less ambitious and almost exclusively Italian schedule this year after the festival's leading sponsor backed out at the 11th hour, leaving organizers with a 500,000 euro ($630,000) budget shortfall. There was no dominant film among the festival's 14 major awards, with no film appearing in more than two categories. The 36-year-old Rossi Stuart -- whose debut directorial effort Anche Libero Va Bene won accolades after screening at the recent Festival de Cannes -- was one of the stars of the Taormina event, taking home the Gian Maria Volonte Best Actor award for two acting roles: one from Anche Libero Va Bene and the other from Michele Placido's gangster film Romanzo Criminale (Crime Novel).

ROME -- Michele Soavi was given the award for best director for Arrivederci Amore, Ciao and up-and-coming actor and director Kim Rossi Stuart was given the prize for best actor in two of the year's top Italian films on the final day of the Taormina Film Festival. The 52nd edition of the Taormina event -- which ran June 20 through Sunday -- featured a less ambitious and almost exclusively Italian schedule this year after the festival's leading sponsor backed out at the 11th hour, leaving organizers with a 500,000 euro ($630,000) budget shortfall. There was no dominant film among the festival's 14 major awards, with no film appearing in more than two categories. The 36-year-old Rossi Stuart -- whose debut directorial effort Anche Libero Va Bene won accolades after screening at the recent Festival de Cannes -- was one of the stars of the Taormina event, taking home the Gian Maria Volonte Best Actor award for two acting roles: one from Anche Libero Va Bene and the other from Michele Placido's gangster film Romanzo Criminale (Crime Novel).

France's MK2 has picked up the French rights to the Directors' Fortnight title Anche Libero va Bene (Even Free is Fine) (Even Free is Fine), the first feature directed by Kim Rossi Stuart, from Adriana Chiesa Enterprises. A child's eye view of family problems, the film unspools Saturday in Cannes. MK2 also snagged rights in French-speaking European territories for the crime thriller Confession of Pain from Media Asia. The film, budgeted at $8 million-$10 million, reunites Infernal Affairs helmers Andrew Lau and Alan Mak with star Tony Leung. "We're very happy with the deal, especially since we only have the script at this stage. MK2 read it and really liked it," Media Asia distribution head Jeffrey Chan said. In other sales activity, Germany's Tobis Film picked up Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera from Summit Entertainment in an all-rights deal for the German market.