L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano S o p h i a L o r e n a n d E n n i o Morricone. The 16th edition of the I t a l i a L o s Angeles Fashion and Art Festival was dedicated to these two timeless myths of Italian cinema. Held as usual i n t h e w e e k b e f o r e t h e O s c a r s , t h e f e s t i v a l , o r g a n i z e d e v e r y y e a r b y P a s c a l V i c e d o m i n i , wanted to honor, first and foremost, Loren, a legend of I t a l i a n m o v i e s , a n d o n e Hollywood golden age's last big names. I n f a c t , s h e w a s t h e recipient of the LA award, Italia Legend Award, Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Festival. The eighty- s i x - y e a r - o l d a c t r e s s o f Y e s t e r d a y , T o d a y a n d Tomorrow and Marriage Italian Style recently made h e a d l i n e s f o r h e r p e r f o r m a n c e i n h e r s o n Edoardo Ponti's film, The Life Ahead, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and at the Critics Choice Awards. "Today, more than ever, S o p h i a r e p r e s e n t s recognition of the global film industry," Italian-American actor Armand Assante, who chaired the festival, said in a statement. F o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n a virtual version, the Festival, which took place from 18th to 24th April, at the behest of h i s t o r i c p r o d u c e r a n d founder of the event Pascal Vicedomini, was promoted by the Capri Institute in the World, with the patronage of t h e M i n i s t r y o f F o r e i g n Affairs and the participation o f R a i C i n e m a , R a i C o m , Rainbow, Medusa, Iervolino Entertainment, Isaia, as well as the Consulate General of Italy in LA, the ICE and the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles. "This festival has created an ideal bridge with the Capri, Hollywood F e s t i v a l , w h i c h l a s t D e c e m b e r c e l e b r a t e d a q u a r t e r o f a c e n t u r y , " Vicedomini, who virtually directed the festival from Rome, commented. In addition to the tribute t o S o p h i a L o r e n , m a s t e r Ennio Morricone, already awarded by the festival in 2006, was also part of the Italian Masters section. For h i m a s p e c i a l e v e n t w a s o r g a n i z e d , a s t r e a m i n g concert of his son Andrea a n d f l u t i s t A n d r e a Gramellini. " I t i s t h e f i r s t e d i t i o n without Maestro Morricone and, while reminiscing the beautiful ceremony on the Walk of Fame -- which we had the honor of promoting in February 2016 with the Capri Institute in the World - - we wanted to meet again for a celebration that could b r i n g t o g e t h e r t h e g r e a t personalities with whom the Maestro collaborated, along with many of his friends," P a s c a l V i c e d o m i n i continued. I n f a c t , m a n y w e r e t h e f r i e n d s a n d f a n s o f t h e c o m p o s e r : f r o m Q u i n c y J o n e s , w h o u s e d t o c a l l Morricone "Little Brother," to Clint Eastwood, to whom he was linked through their c o m m o n e x p e r i e n c e s i n Sergio Leone's films, all the way to Quentin Tarantino, who strongly wanted him for his latest film, The Hateful Eight, and awarded him the star on the Walk of Fame in 2016. H i s t o r i c a l f r i e n d s a n d colleagues of Morricone's, such as Tony Renis, Marina C i c o g n a , F r a n c o N e r o , Giuseppe Tornatore, Andrea and Raffaella Leone, Andrea Bocelli, Amii Stuart, as well a s t h e A m e r i c a n s K e v i n Costner (protagonist of The Untouchables, by Brian De Palma) and Eli Roth, were also present. With them, many other personalities of Italian and US culture and e n t e r t a i n m e n t j o i n e d t h e Morricone family -- his wife Maria and children Andrea and Giovanni. K e e p i n g t o t h e m u s i c theme, Laura Pausini and D i a n e W a r r e n a l s o r e c e i v e d t h e L A , I T A L Y - Master in Music Award for t h e o r i g i n a l s o n g I o S ì ( S e e n ) , f e a t u r e d i n t h e s o u n d t r a c k o f t h e f i l m , starring Sophia Loren, The Life Ahead, directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. With this s o n g t h e t w o a r t i s t s t r i u m p h e d a t t h e G o l d e n Globes, and were nominated for the Oscars and David di Donatello. The event was opened by t h e m o v i e P i n o c c h i o b y M a t t e o G a r r o n e , nominated for an Oscar for i t s c o s t u m e s b y M a s s i m o Cantini Parrini, and make- up by Mark Coulier, Dalia C o l l i a n d F r a n c e s c o Pegoretti. " M a t t e o G a r r o n e a n d Edoardo Ponti, two world- f a m o u s I t a l i a n d i r e c t o r s , embody the quintessence of I t a l i a n e x c e l l e n c e , f u l l o f exceptional creativity and s e n s i t i v i t y . T h e i r a r t i s t i c t a l e n t t r a n s c e n d s a l l geographical boundaries," Marina Cicogna for LA, Italy. Hired by Pascal, actor and producer Luca Riemma was the presenter and organizer of logistics in Los Angeles. "We had to go back to reality w i t h a l l t h e n e c e s s a r y protections. It was also a success because the whole thing was a hybrid, with the p h y s i c a l p r e s e n c e o f t h e f e s t i v a l h e r e i n L A a t t h e Dolby Theater, but also with Pascal Vicedomini virtually connected from Rome and, o b v i o u s l y , w i t h t h e possibility for everyone to connect online. An important f i r s t s t e p t o r e t u r n t o normality." 163 works including films, documentaries and shorts, mostly unreleased, have been o f f e r e d t o t h e A m e r i c a n v i r t u a l a u d i e n c e : a m o n g these Edoardo De Angelis's Christmas in the Cupiello House, based on a piece by Edoardo De Filippo, and a mini-retrospective by Ivan Cotroneo and Alessandro D ' A l a t r i b e t w e e n f i l m a n d fiction. For The Italian Masters, curated by Minerva Pictures and MovieItaly, tributes to Bernardo Bertolucci (The C o n f o r m i s t ) , P i e r p a o l o Pasolini (Medea), Roberto Rossellini (Generale della Rovere), Luchino Visconti ( B e l l i s s i m a ) , L u i g i Comencini (The Cat), Luigi Zampa (Be Sick… It's Free). " A v e r y i m p o r t a n t f i l m that received an award is The Man Who Sold His Skin, by Lebanese director Kaouther B e n H a n i a , s t a r r i n g t h e splendid Monica Bellucci and actor Yahya Mahayni, a film that was also nominated for an Oscar. Other great movies p r e s e n t e d w e r e G e o r g e Gallo's The Comeback Trail, with Robert De Niro, Tommy L e e J o n e s a n d M o r g a n Freeman, and Two of us, the debut of Filippo Meneghetti, I t a l i a n d i r e c t o r w i t h a n international background, n o m i n a t e d a l s o a t t h e A c a d e m y A w a r d s , " L u c a R i e m m a s a i d , f l a n k e d o n stage by Nick Vallelonga, who won an Oscar for The Green Book, and president Andrea Iervolino. "We tried to return to the energy of the past and I would say that, in our way, we succeeded." SILVIA GIUDICI Patrick Muldoon (The Comeback Trail), Luca Riemma and Nick Vallelonga (Photo courtesy of Tommaso Boddi) A Step towards normality with the 2021 Festival Italia Los Angeles Fashion and Art LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS

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