Vincenzo Mollica: A Life in Review and the Joy of Cinema

"If I were given the opportunity to see again for two hours, I would watch my wife Rosemarie and my daughter Caterina, the blessing of my life, the most beautiful movie that has happened to me in life," said Vincenzo Mollica, a historic face of Rai. The journalist will be awarded a special David di Donatello on May 3 at Cinecittà, on the evening of the 'Italian Oscars'. Vincenzo Mollica, his story. "If I had dreamed it I would have fallen out of bed," he says to Corriere della Sera talking about the award. "When Piera Detassis notified me I was moved: it seemed like Christmas had suddenly arrived with all its celebrations," he happily replies from his Roman home, close to Rosemarie, the love of a lifetime. I am retired but I still do things. These days I am working on a docu-film dedicated to the last years of Federico Fellini's life, produced by Atomic and Rai Cinema. When the proposal came to me, it seemed a clear sign that we must move forward. Vincenzo Mollica, 70 years with Fiorello and the disease: "I can no longer see, but I can imagine." THE BEGINNINGS. "I started in 1982 with Cannes and Venice, then the Oscars from 1990, when Tornatore won with Cinema Paradiso. The most exciting moments were those in which the Italians were awarded: from the lifetime Oscars for Fellini and Sophia Loren to those for Benigni and Life is Beautiful." A personal memory? "Many. I remember Benigni, two days before they handed him the statuette. We had to do an interview on Sunset Boulevard and we had an appointment in front of a large hotel: the extraordinary thing is that he was coming on foot and as they recognized him, cars would throw themselves towards the sidewalk to celebrate him. It was a beautiful moment." "I go on with Mr. Parkinson and Miss Blindness, I try to get along with them. There are darker days and brighter days, peace is never made. I hope they do not accompany me in the afterlife and are stopped before." On dark days he still finds a way to be happy. "I try to always keep a smile in my pocket ready for all uses: it's hope in its purest form." The best actors according to Mollica. "Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren in all the films they made together. Giulietta Masina was amazing: Charlot in a skirt, Charlie Chaplin said of her. And then Anna Magnani, with the poetry she carries with her when she appears, it seems like a spell."