On October 8th, during the opening gala of the 11th edition of the Almería Western Film Festival (AWFF), the figure of the Italian composer Ennio Morricone (Rome, 1928-2020) will be recognised with the ‘Leone in Memoriam’ award in the Oasys MiniHollywood village. For this, the Tabernas film festival will count on the presence of his biographer, friend and disciple Alessandro de Rosa who will collect this award in a ceremony that is presented with a renewed format.
It will be a different and unprecedented gala, as a permanent cemetery will be inaugurated to house the graves of all the professionals recognised with this award since 2016. At dusk, attendees will be able to contribute by digging, lighting candles and throwing objects in memory of the Italian composer. At the same time, a string quartet from the Orquesta Ciudad de Almería (OCAL) will perform themes from his films.
The tribute will end with an open-air screening in the Oasys MiniHollywood square of the Retrospective Section film ‘Agáchate Maldito’ (Sergio, 1971), which celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Ennio Morricone scored more than 500 films over almost seven decades, 27 of these films were shot in the province of Almería. Many of his themes are the most recognisable of the wéstern genre, but he also composed some gems that deserve to be discovered. The list is endless: ‘Por un puñado de dólares’ (1964), ‘Una pistola para Ringo’ (1965), ‘La muerte tenía un precio’ (1965), ‘El bueno, el feo y el malo’ (1966), ‘El halcón y la presa’ (1966), ‘Hasta que llegó su hora’ (1968), ‘Salario para matar’ (1968), ‘Los compañeros’ (1970)… It is impossible to conceive the ‘spaghetti western’ without his music.
Winner of two Oscars (one of them honorary), two Grammys and six Bafta awards, Ennio Morricone has gone down in history as one of the most influential and groundbreaking composers of the 20th century. He worked for directors such as Sergio Leone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Sergio Corbucci, Brian de Palma and Quentin Tarantino.
