The 2026 David di Donatello Awards were among the worst in recent years Thank goodness "Le città di pianura" at least won Best Picture

These were the worst David di Donatello Awards in recent years. And the funny thing is that, in recent editions, there have already been several occasions where people said more or less the same thing. But this time they truly were the worst David di Donatello Awards in years. The awards themselves, however, brought some major satisfaction, especially for Le città di pianura, the small film that premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2025, which went on to win eight awards and confirmed itself as the most exciting cinematic phenomenon of the past season. Probably the only film that came close to matching it this year was La grazia by Paolo Sorrentino (14 nominations, not a single statuette, but plenty of memes featuring the maestro’s close-ups throughout the ceremony).

Le città di pianura was the real winner of the 2026 David di Donatello Awards

But the reason these David di Donatello Awards felt so disappointing was not the lazy nominations, nor even the people who ultimately won. In fact, perhaps precisely because this was not an especially brilliant year – one in which it was difficult to identify clear winners across the categories (aside from the film directed and co-written by Francesco Sossai) – the ceremony was marked by several unexpected outcomes.

Maybe it is because Italian cinema still struggles to be as united as it claims and wishes to be (Paolo Virzì immediately putting on his scarf and leaving as soon as he realised he had not won was hardly the right image), leading everyone to vote without following any sort of shared sentiment. Just look at the 2026 nominations, where, for example, the Best Actress category ended up with six nominees instead of five in an attempt to please everyone, or at the five or so David di Donatello Awards won over the years by performers such as Valerio Mastandrea or Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, which, despite their undeniable talent, often feel more like safe choices than genuine risks. 

Did Flavio Insinna and Bianca Balti ruin the 2026 David di Donatello Awards?

The bizarre nature of some of the wins, however, was completely overshadowed by the worst hosting job imaginable. Hearing Flavio Insinna’s voice once again at this point could genuinely provoke irrational reactions, the very reactions all the guests and winners who stepped onto the Teatro 23 stage at Cinecittà admirably managed to suppress — though they would have been entirely understandable. Insinna never once gave space to his co-host Bianca Balti, who herself delivered a mediocre performance, unfortunately as a direct consequence of the direction her colleague imposed on the evening and because she found herself trapped in the middle of it. Still, it must be said that nobody seemed interested in respecting the show schedule or the rehearsals, considering how her speeches were constantly cut short and how Insinna and the technical crew appeared completely deaf every time she began speaking, making it impossible not to feel at least some sympathy for her.

Caught up in the frenzied euphoria of a one-man show, it became obvious that Flavio Insinna had forgotten where he was, mistaking the David ceremony for one of his own television programs, where he reigns supreme and therefore feels entitled to be omniscient. Completely unaware of the annoyance he generated with every interrupted sentence, every cut-off speech, every unsolicited interaction that ruined the audience’s ability to engage with the show. He made matters even worse with jokes he clearly believed were funny but which only demonstrated his lack of awareness about the subjects being discussed, such as his mockery of Happy as Lazzaro, named by singer Arisa as her favourite film, alongside Rai’s unbearable obsession with constantly reminding viewers that time needed to be cut and minutes recovered in order to finish on schedule. 

The 2026 David di Donatello Awards became a political stage for Italian cinema

Insinna’s hyper-present, relentless and exhausting presence managed to overshadow the moments dedicated to the winners on stage. Especially in a year when it was essential to hear them speak about the struggles faced by workers in the entertainment industry (with everyone present and nobody boycotting the ceremony). Some used the stage and the red carpet as megaphones to address the problems currently affecting the industry, while also expressing solidarity with Palestine, through statements that have rarely been so explicit on a Rai 1 broadcast that has felt “sanitised” for quite some time now.

And if the whole event became a circus — serious matters included — it was when the three directors of the winning documentary Roberto Rossellini - Più di una vita, Ilaria de Laurentiis, Raffaele Brunetti and Andrea Paolo Massara, stepped onto the stage that reality hit once again, despite it being nearly 12:50 a.m. They explained that they had gone into debt to make their film and were still waiting for state funding to be released – while Flavio Insinna still somehow felt compelled to comment on their tragic story. That was the moment the audience finally woke back up and remembered what Le città di pianura co-screenwriter Adriano Candiago, also a winner alongside Sossai, had said earlier when he thanked his wife for paying the rent while he was writing the screenplay for the Venetian gem. 

The crisis of Italian cinema overshadowed the 2026 David di Donatello Awards

A showcase stage meant to bring forward all these impossible-to-ignore issues, from the destruction of Gaza to a movement rallying behind the slogan «There is no Italy without cinema» — but what will remain of it all? Everything felt too chaotic and unmanageable, which did not erase what was said or done, but made it harder to listen to than it already was. This was supposed to be the year to shake consciences awake, yet it turned into the year of endless jokes about respecting the schedule.

So we leave the 2026 David di Donatello Awards not feeling more energised than expected, but carrying an appeal that has become visceral because, this time, its wings were clipped, torn apart by Flavio Insinna’s disastrous hosting. Hopefully he has not placed a gravestone over the future of cinema (though perhaps cinema already did that to him). What the industry can hopefully do now is reflect on its own needs and figure out how to change the situation surrounding funding, financial support and government policies. Perhaps by moving towards larger platforms that are not willing to be interrupted by whoever decides to walk across them.