Football documentary My Name Is Francesco Totti (Mi chiamo Francesco Totti) by Alex Infascelli is the winner of the BankGiro Loterij Audience Award for the June festival edition of 2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic: “We’re delighted, following February’s winning film Quo vadis, Aida?, to present the second Audience Award of our 50th edition, chosen from our June lineup, to Alex Infascelli’s Mi chiamo Francesco Totti. Congratulations to Alex for his moving storytelling of the illustrious career and life of the great Francesco Totti. IFFR has always had a love affair with this great sport. This combined with our rooting in the undeniably football-crazed city of Rotterdam, it’s no wonder that this film captivated the hearts of our audiences.”

Before Italian footballer Francesco Totti’s final game, this passionate documentary looks back on his well over 25-year career playing for AS Roma. Using a wealth of archival footage, Infascelli composes a passionate portrait of this one-club man, adored by the people of Rome as both a star athlete and humble family man. Infascelli depicts the footballer after having previously portrayed Stanley Kubrick in the 2015 documentary S is for Stanley, on Emilio D’Alessandro, Kubrick’s personal driver.

Filmmaker Alex Infascelli: “This is unbelievable! Out of all the awards possible, this is the most important: the crowd. I am grateful to all who have opened their hearts to our film!”

To match the 50th edition’s two-part festival format, IFFR 2021 provided audiences with the opportunity to vote for two Audience Award winners – one for both the February and June film program. In February, the BankGiro Loterij Audience Award went to Quo vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Žbanić for her portrayal of the Srebrenica massacre. The film was later nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.