Oscars

The biggest event of the year in the film industry is the Oscar ceremony. This takes place every year in Hollywood. All famous film stars hope they will win the Oscar for Best Actor or Best Actress. Previous winners are Russell Crowe for his part in the film Gladiator and Halle Berry for her part in Monster's Ball.

Directors and writers also hope they will win the highest award ─ the Oscar for Best Picture (as "films" are sometimes called in America) or Best Screenplay. Recent winners are Ron Howard for directing the film A Beautiful Mind and Akiva Goldman for writing the screenplay of the same film.

It is difficult for "foreign" films to win Oscars, because they are not in English. But there is a special Oscar for the Best Foreign Film. No Man's Land was the Best Foreign Film in 2002.

Oscars are not the only prizes that actors, actresses and directors can win. In Britain, there are the BAFTAs (British Academy for Film and Television Arts) in April every year. In Germany, there is the Berlin Film Festival and in France, there is the Cannes Film Festival. In Madrid, Spain, the annual Goya Film Awards take place in March. Every year, there is also a film festival in Venice, Italy. Here the prizes are not Oscars but Lions.

Level: Beginner

Book: Changes for ESO 4

Year: 2002

A famous Italian actor: Roberto Benigni

Life is Beautiful

"I love acting. For me it is pure fun," says Roberto Benigni, three time Oscar winner for the film Life is Beautiful. The Italian actor was very happy when he received the awards. He was also very humble. While he was collecting his third award of the evening, he said, "How can I thank you for this? I've used up all my English with the other two."

Born in 1952 to a poor family, Benigni grew up in a small Tuscan village, Vergaio. Roberto was already writing his own material when he first started to act. He got some comic film roles with great directors like Fellini and Bertolucci, and became famous. He lives in Rome with his wife, Nicoletta Braschi. Film critics say he is a master of spontaneous performance — he shows us a new way of seeing reality.

Benigni's film Life is Beautiful took America by storm; the title became a slogan for all kinds of people. It is the story of a miraculous survival in a Nazi concentration camp. Some love the film and see it as a message of joy in the middle of tragedy. Some hate it and say it ignores the reality of life in those camps.

Level: Beginner

Book: Changes for ESO 4

Year: 2002