“Green Lava”: From Trentino to Hollywood on the Road to the 2027 Oscars
An Italian documentary rooted in Trentino is making its way into the U.S. awards circuit with the goal of entering the race for the 2027 Academy Awards. Green Lava, produced by Emotions to Generate Change in collaboration with Vatican News, Vatican Radio and Vatican Media, recently completed a theatrical run at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills, part of the film’s qualification process for Best Documentary Short Film. Directed by Lia Beltrami and Ali Aksu, the documentary is in Italian with English subtitles.
The involvement of the Vatican’s media organizations adds an unprecedented dimension to the project. According to Variety, this marks the first time in the history of the Academy Awards that the Vatican has moved to submit a film for Oscar consideration. Green Lava is pursuing consideration in the Documentary Short Film category, which follows its own Academy qualification and submission process, distinct from the country-based selection system used for International Feature Film.
At the center of Green Lava is Giacomo Mattivi, 22, from Baselga di Piné in the province of Trento. Mattivi, who lives with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, studies sociology, writes poetry and has a strong interest in film, music and nature. In 2022, he lost his brother Mattia, who had the same condition. Through Giacomo’s experience and his relationship with his family and the community of the Piné Plateau, the documentary explores disability, inclusion and the possibility of bu The film’s title comes directly from Giacomo’s own way of looking at life. “Humans must be like flowing lava, so as not to turn to stone,” he says in the trailer. The image of lava, constantly moving and transforming, becomes a metaphor for refusing immobility and continuing to engage with life despite its limitations
The collaboration with the Vatican’s media organizations goes back to 2024, when Vatican Radio and Vatican News featured Mattivi’s story in the five-part podcast series Il talento di Giacomo. Il viaggio di un giovane poeta dalla disabilità all’ispirazione (Giacomo’s Talent: A Young Poet’s Journey from Disability to Inspiration). The film was subsequently presented in Rome in January 2025 as part of the Jubilee of the World of Communications.
With its Beverly Hills theatrical engagement completed, Green Lava is continuing along the path toward Academy consideration, bringing into the U.S. awards conversation a documentary deeply connected to Trentino, its landscape and its community, while placing Giacomo’s perspective on independence, inclusion and the determination to remain, in his own words, “live lava” at the center of its story.
Sources: Variety, American Magazine
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Emmy Awards 2026: Italian Talent and Made in Italy in the Hollywood SpotlightRelated Posts
An Italian documentary rooted in Trentino is making its way into the U.S. awards circuit with the goal of entering the race for the 2027 Academy Awards. Green Lava, produced by Emotions to Generate Change in collaboration with Vatican News, Vatican Radio and Vatican Media, recently completed a theatrical run at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills, part of the film’s qualification process for Best Documentary Short Film. Directed by Lia Beltrami and Ali Aksu, the documentary is in Italian with English subtitles.
The involvement of the Vatican’s media organizations adds an unprecedented dimension to the project. According to Variety, this marks the first time in the history of the Academy Awards that the Vatican has moved to submit a film for Oscar consideration. Green Lava is pursuing consideration in the Documentary Short Film category, which follows its own Academy qualification and submission process, distinct from the country-based selection system used for International Feature Film.
At the center of Green Lava is Giacomo Mattivi, 22, from Baselga di Piné in the province of Trento. Mattivi, who lives with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, studies sociology, writes poetry and has a strong interest in film, music and nature. In 2022, he lost his brother Mattia, who had the same condition. Through Giacomo’s experience and his relationship with his family and the community of the Piné Plateau, the documentary explores disability, inclusion and the possibility of bu The film’s title comes directly from Giacomo’s own way of looking at life. “Humans must be like flowing lava, so as not to turn to stone,” he says in the trailer. The image of lava, constantly moving and transforming, becomes a metaphor for refusing immobility and continuing to engage with life despite its limitations
The collaboration with the Vatican’s media organizations goes back to 2024, when Vatican Radio and Vatican News featured Mattivi’s story in the five-part podcast series Il talento di Giacomo. Il viaggio di un giovane poeta dalla disabilità all’ispirazione (Giacomo’s Talent: A Young Poet’s Journey from Disability to Inspiration). The film was subsequently presented in Rome in January 2025 as part of the Jubilee of the World of Communications.
With its Beverly Hills theatrical engagement completed, Green Lava is continuing along the path toward Academy consideration, bringing into the U.S. awards conversation a documentary deeply connected to Trentino, its landscape and its community, while placing Giacomo’s perspective on independence, inclusion and the determination to remain, in his own words, “live lava” at the center of its story.
Sources: Variety, American Magazine
Share:
Emmy Awards 2026: Italian Talent and Made in Italy in the Hollywood Spotlight
