Italian writer, director, producer and activist Michela Scolari shines at the 75th Cannes Film Festival with a film presented by the United Nations.
Women are at the helm of the world and this year at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the star of writer, producer, director and activist Michela Scolari shone. The director of “The Jokers” received the award for best documentary film “New Generation In Action. Best Documentary Film” from AFI World Peace Initiative, the global organization supported by the United Nations that celebrated 10 years of activity at the Festival of Cannes.
The film “The Jokers” – which took Scolari more than ten years of work – tells the story of a group of orphans who, after finding refuge in the sewers during the dictatorship, become artists thanks to the Franco-Algerian clown Miloud. Michela became friends with them and followed their ‘rebirth’ from the sewers to the stage for over fifteen years, until last year (with co-director Gianluca Fellini) she returned to Romania to shoot the final act of what is became “The Jokers”, a feature-length documentary edited by the legendary editor of Ettore Scola, Raimondo Crociani.
“I first learned about the clandestine community in the sewers fifteen years ago when I went to Bucharest for a movie. I was shocked, moved and frightened by this secret world where children were sold like animals and killed as criminals. Then I met Miloud and the Jokers. I fell in love with them. They became my best friends. I joined PARADA as a volunteer in 2007 and it became my family. This is the first real documentary about Bucharest’s secret children’s community and about clowns who saved their lives, turning them into artists. The Jokers is my way of thanking PARADA, for changing my life forever. And I’m sure this documentary will change yours too “commented Michela Scolari
“The Jokers” was produced by Michela Scolari, Felix Maximilian for Bradamante Entertainment and Grandave Capital, in association with Emmy Award winners David Zuckerman, Michael Cascio, Herbert Primig, Jeffrey Calman and Academy Award winner Adam Leipzig, and the actress Claudia Gerini and actor Jerry Ying. Producers have joined forces to raise public awareness of orphans and help PARADA build their first home. In addition to this film, Scolari made “Ahminsa” with the United Nations, officially presented at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the organization hosted events during the Cannes Film Festival even in 2021, when Scolari became the second recipient of the “New Generation In Action Lady of the Year” award. The first to receive the award was Cheryl Halpern, former president of Public Broadcasting and an Emmy winner. At the 2022 edition, her founder, her Royal Majesty her Queen Angelique-Monet of Eti-Oni presented the award to the Italian actress and activist Claudia Gerini. The 2022 “New Generation In Action Man of the Year” award was presented to Gianluca Chakra, pioneer of cinema and entertainment.
“We are really proud of Michela Scolari,” said HRH Monet, “for her body of humanitarian works that bring light and understanding to the world and, at the same time, she also manages to produce Hollywood films, including the expected” Sicilian Holiday. We also congratulate all of this year’s honorees, including veteran actor, producer and business Jeff Bridges who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.