“Saving Southern Italy,” a documentary about Italian-Americans returning to their roots to buy and renovate homes in the land of their ancestry, won two awards at the 2022 Montecatini International Short Film Festival in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, in central Italy.
The first award came under the heading of Territory Promotion, and the second for Best Selection “Italiani Nel Mondo.”
Valarie D’Elia, executive producer of the documentary was one of eight recipients in 2020 of a grant from the famous Russo brothers Hollywood directors in association with the National Italian American Foundation.
Valarie is seen above with her Associate Producer Lydia Cannito and Montecatini Film Festival Director Marcello Zeppi.
