Italian director Matteo Garrone is shifting the US release date of his acclaimed drama Gomorrah to December in the hope of improving its chance of Oscar success, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It was originally scheduled for wide release in January 2009.

Garrone's sprawling tale, which shines a light on the shady activities of the Camorra organisation in Naples and Caserta, will already represent Italy in the Academy Award race for best foreign language film. But the new release date would make it eligible for other category races - the best adapted screenplay gong, in particular, is thought to be a target.

The film-maker's decision follows a statement from Martin Scorsese, an emblematic figure at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which decides where the Oscars go. The six-time nominee, who eventually won best director for 2007's The Departed, called the Grand Prix winner at Cannes a "great" film following a festival screening in New York.

Gomorrah, which is based on Roberto Saviano's bestselling eponymous book, was praised by the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw as "a powerful example of that thrilling current of energy which right now is lighting up Italian cinema".

Italy has a strong record in the best foreign language film Oscar category, having provided 13 winners since 1957, when the award was first handed out - Fellini's La Strada won then. The last Italian winner, however, was back in 1997, when Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful took the prize. The 2009 Oscars will take place on February 22.