Premised on our deep belief in the value of writing as the founding act of cinema, we believe that supporting writers means intervening at the most fragile and decisive moment of the creative process: the moment when an idea takes shape, gains structure, and becomes a story. It is with this conviction that the Rodolfo Sonego Award is part of the activities of Piattaforma Lago as a space dedicated to the development of new stories for cinema, with particular attention to feature film subjects and short film screenplays.
Dedicated to one of the fathers of the Italian comedy tradition and the creator of Alberto Sordi’s iconic character, the Sonego Award is not merely a competition, but a journey. Created to enhance cinematic writing and to foster encounters between authors, professionals, and the industry, the award accompanies selected authors through a growth process that goes beyond simple selection. Through mentoring sessions, moments of exchange, and public presentation opportunities, the award aims to create a context in which stories can mature and find their most conscious and solid form.
Each year, the curatorial team of Lago Film Residency selects some of the winning authors to take part in a special residency dedicated to the Sonego Award. During their stay in Lago, authors have the opportunity to work intensively on the development of their story.
The residency represents a real and protected time-space, far from production pressures, where writing can be explored, questioned, and strengthened. The goal is to guide projects toward greater definition, with particular attention to the preparation of the presentation dossier, a fundamental tool for entering the production circuit and engaging with potential partners and financiers.
Through this integrated path between the Sonego Award and Lago Film Residency, we aim to build an ecosystem that places writing at the center as a creative and political act — as the first act of imagining a film and as the place where stories truly begin to come to life.
