L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano L egendary masters of cinematic arts Bernardo Bertolucci and Paolo and Vittorio Taviani were celebrated at the 2019 Los Angeles, Italia - Film Fashion and Art Festival, the Italian festival taking place before the Academy Awards. The annual event, held at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, was inau- gurated on Sunday 17th of Febru- ary with the special screening of the Taviani brothers' latest movie, The Lark Farm, introduced by ac- tor Alessandro Preziosi, and was closed on Saturday 23rd with the special screening of Bertolucci's controversial Last Tango In Paris, starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. The opening night of the Fes- tival focused on two iconic actors, the American Andy Garcia and the Italian Franco Nero, both hon- ored with an LA Italia Legend Award to acknowledge their sig- nificant contributions to global cinema. "I own everything to cin- ema. Sometimes, they ask me 'What is cinema for you?', and I say it is like a big city where peo- ple of different colors, and ethnic SILVIA GIUDICI como Gatti (world premiere); Caravaggio: The Soul and the Blood, by Jesus Garces Lambert; Mathera, directed by Dino Sali- naro and Francesco Invernizzi;  Bernini, by Francesco Invernizzi; Theater at Work, by Massimiliano Pacifico (US pre- miere). "We are extremely proud to honor so many, talented Italian filmmakers and performing artists, along with their Italian- American counterparts," said LA Italia Festival founder and pro- ducer Pascal Vicedomini and honorary chairman Mark Canton in a statement. "As it happened in previous years, our event comes to Hollywood on the eve of the Oscars with a star-stud- ded array of Italian, Italian-Amer- ican and international artists, all scheduled to participate in a weeklong pre-Academy Awards celebration showcasing the best of Italian culture through a series of premieres, screenings retro- spectives and exhibitions." LA Italia 2019 closed on Feb- ruary 23rd, with the world pre- miere of Jesus Garces Lambert's Amazing Leonardo, a new biopic about Leonardo Da Vinci, in com- memoration of the 500th anniver- sary of the artist's death (May 2, 1519). Another documentary, Leonardo 500, directed by Francesco Invernizzi, celebrated the Italian genius with a journey leading to the discovery of the thought and the scientific heritage of the Renaissance artist. The 14th annual Fest ended with a special awards ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, honoring multiple Academy Award nominees start- ing from Nick Vallelonga, best motion picture Oscar for Green Book, who received the Italian- American of the Year award. His movie was honored with the LA, Italia Solidarity award and with the Best Script award, which was received by Vallelonga himself, Brian Hayes Currie and Peter Far- relly. Roman director Matteo Ro- vere received the Filmmaker of the Year award for his ancient Rome epic The First King, while American director Adam McKay received a prize for Vice, a movie about former US Vice President Dick Cheney. "Italian movies showed me that cinema is an art so I am very grateful to Italy. And Vice wouldn't have been possible without the inspiration I had from Paolo Sorrentino's movie Il Divo, said director McKay to the audi- ence after receiving the award. The Festival also celebrated the Italian town of Matera, 2019 European Capital of Culture, with the US premiere of Mathera, di- rected by Invernizzi and Salinaro. As an incise, Matera also happens to be where Francis Ford Cop- pola's family hails from, so the documentary fits perfectly within this year's celebrations for the di- rector's 80th birthday. groups have their own room and their dreams. So cinema will con- tinue to exist as long as people will continue to dream," said actor Franco Nero, visibly moved. "Cinema means freedom, in a country with no freedom there is no cinema. Cinema gave me the possibility to travel the world, I have been in more than a hundred countries and it gave me the pos- sibility to have dinner with princes, princesses, governors, but also with common people. And honestly, I prefer to have dinner with the latter!" American-Cuban actor Andy Garcia took the stage just after him. "Italy a like a second home for me, I had the great opportunity to play Italian characters in movies and working in Italy for many years." He said "I had the blessing to be supported by Frank Mancuso and his wife, she said she liked me and thanks to her I was cast for The Untouchables. My mom is 97years old now and my father passed away a few years ago. Frank Mancuso was like my second father." On the same evening, which was chaired by former TV Acad- emy CEO Hayma Washington, along with noted actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta (Il Postino) and the director and producer Iginio Straffi (who is known for being the founder and CEO of Rainbow S.p.A., as well as the creator of its most famous creation, the Winx Club TV series, serving as presidents), Sopranos' actors Michael Imperioli and Joe Pan- toliano were awarded, in celebra- tion of the hit HBO series' 20th anniversary. "My grandfa- ther was born outside of Rome, he came to the US when he was 16. I made him very proud when he saw his grandson on television and in movies. When the Sopra- nos got on tv it was a big success worldwide. This summer I was invited to a big festival in Rome and being there, in this ancient city where my roots are, where my family comes from, it was probably the best thing for me. So this award means a lot to me. I think Hollywood should be re- ally grateful to Italy!" said Michael Imperioli upon receiving his award. Honored on the same night were also Oscar-nominated song- writer Diane Warren (Best Origi- nal Song, I'll Fight Back, from RBG), along with Oscar nomi- nees Florian Von Donnersmarck (Best Foreign Language Film, Never Look Away), Alan Murray, Tom Ozanich, Jason Ruder and Dean Zupancic (Best Sound Edi- tor and Sound Mixers for A Star Is Born).  Many attended the Festival's opening night: Silvia Chiave, Consul General of Italy/Los An- geles, Oscar winning writer-direc- tor Bobby Moresco (Crash), Os- car-winning screenwriter Barry Morrow (Rain Man), former stu- dio executive Frank Mancuso and former AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs. They welcomed the 2019's Italian delegation, which included director and producer Matteo Rovere and actor Alessio Lapice (Romulus and Remus – The First King); actor and director Alessandro Preziosi (Medici); ac- tor and producer Luca Bar- bareschi (The International); young movie stars Angela and Marianna Fontana (Indivisible); writer-director Robert Andò(The Confessions); actors Walter Nudo and Sofia Milos, who served as the event's masters of ceremonies. The Festival's TV showcase also included the top-rated se- ries Sons of Ndrangheta, directed by Giacomo Campiotti and Mia, directed by Riccardo Donna. Doc- umentaries were also shown. Among them, Palladio: The Power of Architecture, by Gia- LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY LA Italia celebrated iconic and new directors Iginio Straffi and Andy Garcia Hayma Washington, Franco Nero, Barry Morrow and Mark Canton Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Nick Vallelonga and Consul General Silvia Chiave

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