The film won two awards at the 2009 New Italian Cinematic Events festival: the Città di Firenze Award for best film and the Susan Batson Award for best actress, Valeria Solarino in the role of Angela. The N. I. C. E. festival, run by Viviana del Bianco, represents the most important festival of Italian cinema in America, with showings in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle. At the International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival of Bilbao in 2011, Valeria Solarino won the award for best actress and Isabella Ragonese received special mention. Viola di mare won the 2009 Capri Peace Award. The film was nominated for the Marc'Aurelio d'Oro for best film at the Rome Film Festival. It was an official selection at the 2010 San Francisco Frameline Film Festival.