David Di Donatello Awards: Heartwarming Film ‘The Last One For The Road’ Takes Home Best Film and Director Honors
Francesco Sossai’s The Last One for the Road Dominates 71st David di Donatello Awards
Francesco Sossai’s comedy-drama The Last One for the Road achieved remarkable success at the 71st David di Donatello Awards, held at Rome’s Cinecittà studios on Wednesday. The film secured victories in eight categories, including Best Film and Best Director.
The road movie, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, features Sergio Romano and Pierpaolo Capovilla as two fiftysomething men from Italy’s northern Veneto region. They form an unlikely friendship with a timid student from Naples, portrayed by Filippo Scotti.
Leading the nominations with 16 categories, The Last One for the Road also earned accolades for Best Actor (Romano), Original Screenplay, Editing, Original Song, Casting, and Best Producer.
Francesco Sossai accepts the David di Donatello for Best Film for ‘The Last One for the Road’
Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images
Other notable winners included Italian opera director Damiano Michieletto’s debut feature, the Venice-set film Primavera, inspired by Antonio Vivaldi, and Silvio Soldini’s World War II drama The Tasters, which tells the story of young women forced to serve as food tasters for Adolf Hitler. The night also featured a martial arts action-thriller, Forbidden City.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, an Oscar-winning film, claimed the Best International Film award, triumphing over contenders including I’m Still Here and The Brutalist. However, Anderson was unable to attend the ceremony to accept the prize.
In honorary awards, acclaimed cinematographer Vittorio Storaro received the Special Prize Cinecittà 91, recognizing his extensive career, which includes collaborations with directors such as Francis Ford Coppola and Bernardo Bertolucci. Director Gianni Amelio was honored with a lifetime achievement award, while animator and director Bruno Bozzetto received the Special David Prize. Gennaro Nunziante’s comedy Buen Camino, starring Checco Zalone, won the Spectator Prize, although neither the director nor the star attended.
The complete list of winners at the 2026 David di Donatello Awards is as follows:
- Best Film: The Last One for the Road, Francesco Sossai
- Best Director: Francesco Sossai, The Last One for the Road
- Best First Film: Margherita Spampinato, Sweetheart
- Best Original Screenplay: The Last One for the Road, Francesco Sossai and Adriano Candiago
- Best Adapted Screenplay: The Tasters, Doriana Leondeff, Silvio Soldini, Lucio Ricca, Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Ilaria Macchia
- Best Producer: The Last One for the Road, Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa
- Best Actress: Aurora Quattrocchi, Sweetheart
- Best Actor: Sergio Romano, The Last One for the Road
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Matilda De Angelis, Fuori
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Lino Musella, Feeling Better
- Best International Film: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson
- Best Casting: Adriano Candiago, The Last One for the Road
- Best Cinematography: Paolo Carnera, Forbidden City
- Best Composer: Primavera, Fabio Massimo Capogrosso
- Best Original Song: Krano, The Last One for the Road
- Best Art Direction: Andrea Castorina and Marco Martucci, Forbidden City
- Best Costumes: Primavera, Maria Rita Barbera and Gaia Calderone
- Best Make-up: Esmé Sciaroni, The Tasters
- Best Hair: Marta Iacoponi, Primavera
- Best Editing: Paolo Cottignola, The Last One for the Road
- Best Sound: Gianluca Scarlata, Davide Favargiotti, Daniele Quadroli, and Nadia Paone, Primavera
- Best Special Effects: Forbidden City, Stefano Leoni and Andrea Lo Priore
- Best Documentary: Roberto Rossellini, Living Without a Script, Ilaria de Laurentiis, Andrea Paolo Massara, Raffaele Brunetti
- Best Short: Everyday in Gaza, Omar Rammal
- Youth Prize: The Tasters, Silvio Soldini
