While waiting for the Golden Globe and Academy Awards coming up, the city of world cinema is getting ready to host Cinema Italian Style 2013. The annual festival dedicated to Italian contemporary cinema will kick off November 14 through the 18 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
The grand opening will feature the U.S. premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, an official selection at Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival, and Italy’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2013 Academy Awards. The movie will be presented in collaboration with AFI Fest – a program of the American Film Institute dedicated to world and Hollywood’s cinema -, and it will be released in the Unites States by Janus Films in November. In Los Angeles, the film will open on the 22nd at the Nuart Theater.
Many renowned Italian actors, directors, and producers will be in attendance. Among them are Claudia Gerini, Kasia Smutniak, Jasmine Trinca, Roberto Andò, Maria Sole Tognazzi, as well as directors Paolo Sorrentino and Academy Award winner Bernardo Bertolucci who will be bestowed the Cinema Italian Style Award for their successful career in this field. Over the years, the prestigious award has been presented to leading figures of the Italian cinema and/or members of the American film industry with unique ties to the Italian one. Past recipients include George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Raoul Bova, Anjelica Houston, Valeria Golino, Dino De Laurentiis, and John Turturro, just to name a few.
This year’s selection of Italian movies, assembled by artistic curator Laura Delli Colli, includes Paolo Genovese’s A Perfect Family with Sergio Castellitto; Welcome Mr. President by Riccardo Milani; Valeria Golino’s directorial debut Honey,presented at Cannes Film Festival and starring Jasmine Trinca, winner of Italy’s Nastro d’Argento 2013 Award for Best Actress; A Five Star Life by Maria Sole Tognazzi; Roberto Andò’s Long Live Freedom featuring Toni Servillo, who is also the protagonist of Sorrentino’s film;Those Happy Years by Daniele Luchetti; Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Best Offer with Geoffrey Rush; and The Interval by Leonardo Di Costanzo.
Screenings will take place at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, November 15-18, and each of them will be introduced by the attending directors and/or talents.
The 2013 edition of Cinema Italian Style is also dedicated to great Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, honoring the 20th anniversary of his death with a special tribute. On November 23, one of his most celebrated masterpieces, La Dolce Vita, will be screened at The Aero Theatre together with Ettore Scola’s latest film How Strange To Be Named Federico, based on their life-long friendship.
Cinema Italian Style has been organized by Luce Cinecittà and the American Cinematheque since 1995, with the purpose of bringing to Los Angeles the best classics as well as contemporary productions of the Italian movie industry.
In the last few years, a number of important partnerships have been established in order to enhance the festival’s outreach. Among them is the long standing collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles, which will host the screening of Cinema Italian Style Documentary Series (November 15-20), as well as the photo exhibition Portraits by Fabio Lovino (November 14 – December 31), and the Movie’n Food event on November 13, organized by Dress in Dreams to celebrate the close relationship between food and Italian American cinema.
Coordinated by the Italian Trade Commission in Los Angeles, the program of this year’s festival will also feature a pre-opening press conference with the participation of the Italian artistic delegation and international press representatives.
The brand new partnership with AFI Fest will include a special evening dedicated to director Bernardo Bertolucci, who will attend the U.S. premiere of the 3D version of his nine-Academy Award winning movie The Last Emperor on November 10.
The renowned Italian filmmaker will also conduct a master class for UCLA students on November 12, moderated by Bob Rosen, Dean Emeritus and Professor of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
A selection of vintage photographs from the Archivio Luce exhibition Hollywood – Roma, featuring portraits of international movie stars visiting Rome in the 1950s, will also be on view at the Chinese Theatre during the AFI Fest.
Finally, after two years of ongoing collaboration, Luce Cinecittà and the Seattle International Film Festival will present Cinema Italian Style in Seattle November 14 through 21.
Cinema Italian Style 2013 has been produced by Luce Cinecittà and the American Cinematheque, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Culture – Film Department, the Italian Trade Commission in Los Angeles, Leading Hotels of the World, Marchon, Rossano Ferretti, Tichebox for K-Way, Uber, Vhernier, and Variety as a media partner.
The program is part of the initiatives celebrating 2013 – Year of the Italian Culture in the United States, realized under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, and in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles.
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