L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 4 LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY production company (Astarox Srl, 2003-2011). What led you to relocate to Los Angeles and how was your adjustment? Max and I produced two suc- cessful feature films in Italy, and - u rged als o by J amie Weis s enborn, former S enior Vice President at Sony Pictures – fulfilled our dreams, by moving to Hollywood, the Mecca of cin- ema. When we relocated here five years ago, we had a ten-year daughter and we faced several challenges, including learning how to communicate in a differ- ent language. Bas ically, w e had to s tart from scratch, but, now, we feel fully adjus ted to the L.A . lifestyle and we would never think to go back to Italy. Three years ago, you found- ed Epicureology. How did you come up with its concept? Everything started three years ago, when I met my business partner, Daniela Agostini, and together we initiated a Facebook group, called "Italiani a Los Angeles." The latter has been growing exponentially. Today it is made of 8300 members, and counting. The high demand for net- working opportunities with fel- low Italians in L.A. urged us to create an annual event, called "Epicureology." The first edition had a down home taste. We hosted it in a house in Hollywood. Our special guests were leading figures from the Italian food industry, the likes of restaurateurs, importers and distributors. It was a big success, so, last year, we repeated the same for- mula. This year, we widened our objective of connecting the food industry with the entertainment sector. The latter fuels the first, given that myriad of chefs work as consultants for US celebrities and Italian restaurants are regu- larly attended by VIP. Among our special guests were: actress, Katherine Kelly Lang, very popular thanks to her role as Brooke Logan on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (in Italy, s imply known as Beautiful); Italian- American actor/musician, Lee Curreri, renowned for his role as Bruno Martelli in the film Fame and its spinoff TV series and Italian-American actor, Vincent Spano, who acquired popularity among Italian audiences, thanks to his role as mafia bos s , Rodolfo di Venanzio in the drama TV series, L'onore e il rispetto – Parte seconda (2009). We had a generous sponsor- ship by Gianluca Paci, Assistant Vice President and Business Development Officer at the L.A. branch of Bank of the West. His Presenter Kim Knopf, Actor Vincent Spano and Founder-Organizer, Paola Maria Savoia. Photo courtesy of P.M. Savoia backing is not limited to us, but he supports the entire local com- munity of Italians. What were the biggest chal- lenges in the previous years? Is th ere an yth in g you h ave learned from the past editions? The organization of events has always been my bread and butter. In the case at hand, it was crucial to identify which was the real demand. I found out that restaurateurs are more sought after by the food producers, than importers or dis- tributors, who are hesitant to come out of their usual circles. Tell u s more ab ou t th e artists/chefs, who took part to 2016 edition. The evening's hos t w as Ernes t P ierce, w ho led us through a culinary and entertain- ing journey. As far as chefs, we had Vito Iacopelli, pizza maker, w ho recently opened the pizzeria, "Prova", in West Hollywood. Thanks to his portable wood- oven, he prepared several vari- eties of pizzas on the spot, show- ing us the simplicity and accura- cy, needed for a thin crusted delicious dough, combined with the best Italian ingredients. Chef Christian Simionato, with his cook demonstration on how to prepare hand-made "gnocchi al sugo finto" (a vege- tarian ragu). He has just kick-started a very original catering business, called "Saor". Christian and his team of chefs not only go to cook deli- cious Italian food in their cus- tomers' homes, but they bring a surprise guest with them (an Italian artist or entertainer). Chef Fabio Ugoletti, who is in charge of the res taurant, "Bettolino Kitchen" (in Redondo Beach), showed us how to pre- pare a creamy risotto, flavored with Balsamic vinegar. Las t but not leas t, Chef Raffaele Buonaiuto (aka "Chef Raff"), the only one who does not reside in L.A., proudly repre- sented his hometown, Naples, by cooking the traditional recipe of "Paccheri allo Scarpariello." Nothing but the tube-shaped pasta, sautéed with tomato sauce (made w ith authentic S an Marzano tomatoes), extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil. A s far as artis ts , hip hop singer/songwriter, Sammy C, and R&B s inger/s ongw riter, Favor Valentine, performed on stage, while Italian nineteen years old dancer (and student at the Stella Adler drama school), Serena Limonta, accompanied with her own choreography. S u m u p for u s you r film producing activity, alongside your husband, filmmaker Max Leonida. After one and a half year, since our relocation in the States, Max was hired from a produc- tion company to direct the fea- ture film Beauty in The Broken (2015). Between next September and October, my husband is finally going to realize his own feature film, The Nemesis, a psychologi- cal thriller, written and directed by himself and fully produced in the US. M ajor talent and literary agency, ICM Partners, upon reading M ax's s creenplay, announced its intention to take part to the project and offered a cast list of A-level actors for the leading role, including, among others, Al Pacino, Willem Defoe and Tim Robbins. Max has been simultaneously hired, together with US produc- ers, Jonathan Looper and Vadim Dardagani, to direct a film, Light Wounds , w hich explores the theme of schizophrenia. Last but not least, producer Kim Kopf and myself are pro- ducing an horror/thriller, Experiment 77, which is going to feature the legendary British actor, Malcom McDowell. Last August, Max and I also realized the first episode of an Italian-American sitcom, Bruna in Beverly Hills, which we are now shopping around several international TV networks, the likes of Mediaset and BBC. Do you like living in Los Angeles? Do you have contacts with the local Italian-American community? I love living in L.A. What I was able to accomplish here in mere five years, I would have never been able to do in an entire life, spent in Italy. Here, meritocracy takes over Italy's widespread nepotism. Thanks to our F acebook group, "Italiani a Los Angeles", we keep in touch with almost every Italian in L.A. We regular- ly organize events and get- togethers, for the mere pleasure of spending time in each other's company. Just to give you an idea, we have scheduled a group hiking up to the Hollywood Sign, on June 5 th , which is going to have a massive participation. We constantly receive a posi- tive feedback on Facebook, but we work to make it better and better. A source of pride comes also from our ability to prevent our fellow Italians to get scammed. I have a great relationship with the Italian Cultural Institute in L.A. and I even hosted some events there in the past. Similarly, I have excellent relations hips w ith both the L.A.'s Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West and the Italian Trade Agency (ICE). A special thanks to L'Italo- Americano, for having enthusias- tically covered our events, giving always voice to our community. Continued from page 3 Chef Raffaele Buonaiuto (aka Chef Raff). Photo Courtesy of P.M. Savoia

• Cover