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Michelle Bonev First there were questions about Sofia Coppola's Somewhere Best Film win at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, whose jury was headed by Coppola's former boyfriend Quentin Tarantino. Now an investigation is under way to find out if Italian taxpayers financed a €400,000 (approx. Us$530k) trip for Bulgarian actress-filmmaker Michelle Bonev, whose 40-strong entourage was invited to Italy so Bonev could be handed a fabricated award for her movie Goodbye Mama at Venice, reports Ben Child in The Guardian. Bonev, 39, described as a "personal friend" of beleaguered Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, was given the "action for women" award, "dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the European convention for protection of human rights." Additionally, according to the Italian media the Berlusconi government-controlled state broadcaster Rai — as one of the film's financiers — has allegedly paid €1m (approx. Us$1.32m) for the rights to show Goodbye Mama. In its press release,...

Italian prime minister accused of demanding that Michelle Bonev's movie Goodbye Mama be shown in Venice and that she receive 'some kind of prize'

The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is under investigation following claims that he used as much as €400,000 (£338,477) in state funds to fly a Bulgarian actor and director to the Venice film festival, along with their entourage, to receive a fabricated award.

According to media reports in Italy and Bulgaria, the Italian court of auditors has opened a full investigation into the case of Michelle Bonev, described as a "personal friend" of Berlusconi, who picked up an "action for women" award, "dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the European convention for protection of human rights" for her movie Goodbye Mama in September. The investigation will be based on a reportedly recorded phone conversation between Italian minister of culture Sandro Bondi and his deputy cinema minister Nicolo Boreli,...