‘The Last One for the Road’ Sweeps Italy’s David di Donatello Awards, Winning Eight Statuettes

Francesco Sossai’s sophomore feature “The Last One for the Road,” which launched from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, is the big winner of Italy’s David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes.

“For the Road” is a quirky drama that follows two broke 50-somethings who are small-time crooks who befriend a shy architecture student. As a trio, they go on a chaotic voyage through the Venetian plains. The film scored top honors for best film, director, actor, editing, screenplay, producer, casting and original song.

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“Freedom means being fearless,” said Sossai, upon receiving the best film statuette that capped the sweep. “Thanks to all. And let’s go get a drink!”

The film opened in the U.S. via Music Box Films on May 1 at Lincoln Center and IFC Center in New York and is now expanding to other cities nationwide.

The David Award for best first work went to Margherita Spampinato for “Gioia Mia” (“Sweetheart”) about a cheeky young boy named Nico who is raised in a tech-savvy family and forced to spend the summer in a seaside Sicilian town with his grumpy and religious elderly aunt.

Aurora Quattrocchi, who in “Gioia Mia” plays the elderly aunt known as Zia Gela, scooped the actress award.

Silvio Soldini’s “The Tasters,” which reconstructs the true story of the women conscripted to be Adolf Hitler’s food tasters, won the best screenplay award – to Doriana Leondeff, Silvio Soldini, Lucio Ricca, Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Ilaria Macchia – the Youth David voted by a vast student jury and the best makeup artist prize.

This year’s edition of Italy’s David Awards has been characterised by mounting anti-government anger led in large part by the country’s film community, who are up in arms that the culture ministry’s funding faucet for local production rebates and other incentives had, until very recently, been virtually shut for the past two years. A boycott of the Davids as a form of protest had been proposed in the lead-up to the event, but did not happen.

Though the film funds have now finally started to flow again, the pot has been shrunk by the government from a total €700 million ($822 million) in 2025 to €610 million ($716 million) in 2026, and €500 ($585 million) earmarked for 2027.

On the positive side, 2026 has started well in terms of local moviegoing, with admissions up 18.9% in the first four months of the year compared with the same period in 2025.

Among the previously announced awards are the David for Best International Film to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and the Audience David to recent megahit “Buen Camino” directed by Gennaro Nunziante and featuring comic sensation Checco Zalone. Three time Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro was honored with a special prize. 

The career award went to Gianni Amelio, who is best-known outside Italy for his Oscar-nominated “Open Doors” (1990) and also “Stolen Children,” which won the 1992 Cannes Grand Prix. He more recently helmed “Battleground,” which bowed in Venice in 2024. Amelio is now in post on the drama “No Pain” toplining Valeria Golino and Alessandro Borghi that is tipped for Venice this year.

The Davids were held at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, which are undergoing a radical revamp and have become luring Hollywood productions, most recently Netflix’s live-action “Assassin’s Creed” series directed by Johan Renck that is currently filming there.

See the complete list of 2026 David Awards winners below.

PICTURE

“The Last One for the Road,” Francesco Sossai

DIRECTOR
Francesco Sossai, “The Last One for the Road”

DEBUT DIRECTOR
“Gioia Mia,” Spampinato

PRODUCER
Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Paonessa, Vivo Film, RAI Cinema, in collaboration with Philipp Kreuzer for Maze Pictures, Cecilia Trautvetter

ACTRESS
Aurora Quattrocchi, “Gioia Mia”
ACTOR
Sergio Romano, “The Last One For The Road”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Matilda De Angelis, “Fuori”
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nino Musellla, “Nonostante”

SCREENPLAY
“The Last One for the Road” Francesco Sossai, Adriano Candiago
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Tasters,” Doriana Leondeff, Silvio Soldini, Lucio Ricca, Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Ilaria Macchia.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Paolo Carnera, “La Città Proibita”

EDITING
Paolo Cottignola “The Last One for the Road’

DOCUMENTARY
“Roberto Rossellini – Più di Una Vita,” Ilaria De Laurentiis, Andrea Paolo Massara, Raffaele Brunetti
SHORT
“Domenica Sera,” Matteo Tortone
CASTING
Stefania Rodà, Maurilio Mangano, “Vermiglio”

SCORE
Fabio Massimo Capogrosso, “Primavera”

ORIGINAL SONG
“Ti” from the film “The Last One for the Road,” Marco Spigarol, (AKA Krano), performed by Krano

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Andrea Castorina, Marco Martucci, “La Città Proibita”

COSTUME DESIGN
Maria Rita Barbera, Gaia Calderone “Primavera”

MAKEUP ARTIST
Esmé Sciaroni, “The Tasters”

HAIR ARTIST
Marta Iacoponi, “Primavera”

SOUND
Gianluca Scarlata, Davide Favargiotti, Daniele Quadroli, Nadia Paone, “Primavera”

DIGITAL EFFECTS
Stefano Leoni, Andrea Lo Priore, “La Città Proibita”

BEST SHORT

“Everyday in Gaza,” Omar Rammal

AUDIENCE AWARD
“Buen Camino,” Gennaro Nunziante
BEST FOREIGN FILM
“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson
YOUTH DAVID
“The Tasters,” Silvio Soldini
CAREER DAVID
Gianni Amelio
SPECIAL DAVID
Bruno Bozzetto
SPECIAL DAVID CINECITTÀ
Vittorio Storaro