The 2025 Oscar campaign for the acclaimed short film Dive by Aldo Iuliano has begun. Presented in competition in the Orizzonti section of the 2023 Venice International Film Festival, the film enchanted audiences and critics with its touching, poetic reflection on love and innocence in times of war.
Produced by Davide Mogna for NewGen Entertainment, co-produced by Gianluca Lazzaroni and Fabio Canepa for Greif Production, in collaboration with Rai Cinema, Mompracem, Daitona and Iuliano himself and distributed by Premiere Film, the film won the Special Prize at Italy’s 2024 Nastri d'Argento and was selected for major national and international short film festivals, including Busan, Brussels, Visioni Italiane and Cortinametraggio.
Written by Severino Iuliano, Dive is about on two young people - Roman and Julia - who take refuge on a beach (the short was shot in Sabaudia) to carry out a courageous and silent form of resistance against the horror that surrounds them.
With the precious contribution of Daniele Ciprì’s photography and Marco Spoletini’s editing, Aldo Iuliano directs a timeless story, a modern fairy tale where feelings explode stronger than bombs: for twelve intense minutes, music becomes a hymn to freedom and the painful reminder of how difficult it is to abandon one's homeland because of war.
"There are over fifty armed conflicts ongoing today, we need to talk about peace, about union between human beings, otherwise we can only conclude that we are aiming for self-destruction" said the director, previously appreciated for his short Penalty (2016) and feature film Space Monkeys (2022). "With Dive I wanted to show how shared love leaves deeper marks on the heart than the horror that tries to divide us".
The profound friendship of the film’s actors - Veronika Lukyanenko and Danyil Kamenskyi - talented Ukrainians who came to Italy together to study at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, animates the concept without the need for too many words. A modern Romeo and Juliet embodying the determination and the fragility of their characters with intensity, the film has universal scope.
The Oscar campaign, conducted by publicist Catherine Lyn-Scott – who has helped 10 shorts achieve Oscar nominations with 6 wins – will unfold across Los Angeles, London and Italy with a special event for Italian Academy voters.