Thanks to those in Italy who cheered for us - Garrone

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 11 - Italian director Matteo Garrone said Sunday his 'Io Capitano' Oscar bid had been a "fantastic journey" and thanked all those in Italy who supported it after losing out to British director Jonathan Glazer's 'Zone of Interest' for best international feature film at the 2024 Academy awards in Los Angeles.
    "It has been a fantastic journey, a great adventure," said Garrone, whose disturbing tale of two young Senegalese migrants who travel from Dakar to Europe won him the best-director award at last year's Venice Film Festival.
    "I thank all those who supported us in Italy during this period, who cheered for us, the production partners Rai Cinema and Pathe, the culture ministry, and all those who followed the film and loved it," continued the 55-year-old Rome-born director best known for Cannes second prize winner Gomorrah (2008).
    "All the people who saw it in cinemas around the world and gave us great emotions," he added.
    Io Capitano, for which Senagalese newcomer Seydou Sarr has won acclaim as one of the protagonists, has been lauded for showing the reality of the horrors faced by African migrants on their arduous and often perilous journeys to Europe.
    The title, which translates as I, Captain, comes from Sarr's character's being forced to steer the migrant boat from Libya to Sicily after suffering terrible ordeals including torture at the hands of trafficking gangs and his pride at succeeding in getting everyone to shore alive. (ANSA).