Cinema Italian Style 2013 opens November 14th at the Egyptian theatre with the U.S. premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s THE GREAT BEAUTY, Italy’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2013 Academy Awards®. Sorrentino will be joined on the red carpet by Academy Award Winner Bernardo Bertolucci. Both directors will receive the Cinema Italian Style Award prior to the film screening. The opening night presentation is in collaboration with AFI FEST which will be presenting THE GREAT BEAUTY in its World Cinema program.
Written and directed by Sorrentino and featuring the iconic Toni Servillo (Il Divo, Gomorrah), THE GREAT BEAUTY played to great acclaim in Competition at the Cannes International Film Festival, where a movie by Sorrentino was selected for the fifth time. The film is presented at AFI FEST and will be released in the US in November by Janus Films.
The 2013 edition of Cinema Italian Style (November 14-18) is dedicated to Federico Fellini in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of his passing. The Maestro’s work and contributions to the world of cinema will be remembered and celebrated with a special tribute on November 23rd at The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica through the screening of one of Fellini’s masterpieces LA DOLCE VITA and Ettore Scola’s latest film, HOW STRANGE TO BE NAMED FEDERICO, dedicated to their life-long friendship.
This year’s selection, assembled by artistic curator Laura Delli Colli, includes Paolo Genovese’s A PERFECT FAMILY with Sergio Castellitto; Riccardo Milani’s WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT; Valeria Golino’s directorial debut HONEY (presented in Cannes to great acclaim with Jasmine Trinca, winner of Italy’s Nastro Argento 2013 for Best Actress); Maria Sole Tognazzi’s A FIVE STAR LIFE; Roberto Ando’s LONG LIVE FREEDOM featuring Toni Servillo; Daniele Luchetti’s THOSE HAPPY YEARS; Giuseppe Tornatore’s THE BEST OFFER with Geoffrey Rush and Leonardo Di Costanzo’s THE INTERVAL.
Screenings will take place at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica November 15th-18th with each film being introduced by the attending director and/or talent. Actors Jasmine Trinca (HONEY), Claudia Gerini (A PERFECT FAMILY), Kasia Smutiniak (WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT), Maria Sole Tognazzi (A FIVE STAR LIFE) and producers Nicola Giuliano (THE GREAT BEAUTY, WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT) and Viola Prestieri (THE GREAT BEAUTY, HONEY) will join Sorrentino and Bertolucci at the opening night red carpet.
CINEMA ITALIAN STYLE 2013
Opening Night! Bernardo Bertolucci & Paolo Sorrentino In Person! Italy’s Official Oscar Entry!
THE GREAT BEAUTY
This screening is a collaboration with AFI FEST and tickets will not be sold on Fandango or at our Box Office. Please click here for ticket information for AFI FEST. American Cinematheque Members at the Friend Level and above have received a special invitation to RSVP for tickets in advance.
Red-carpet arrivals begin at 4:45 PM. The evening starts at 5:30 PM with the Cinema Italian Style opening ceremony, including the CIS award to directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Paolo Sorrentino. Feature starts at 6:00 PM.
Egyptian Theatre • Thu, Nov 14, 2013 • 5:30pm
THE GREAT BEAUTY LA GRANDE BELLEZZA
2013, Janus Films, 142 min, Italy, Dir: Paolo Sorrentino
Director Paolo Sorrentino (IL DIVO) returns with a dazzling elegy to Rome’s past glories – and those of Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), a once-promising writer who fritters away his time with Roman high society. There are echoes of LA DOLCE VITA in this portrait of a man adrift in the Eternal City, not the least of which is the sense that we are witnessing a master filmmaker at work. Official selection of the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival, and Italy’s official entry for the 2014 Foreign-Language Film Oscar. “THE GREAT BEAUTY will surprise, perplex and bewitch highbrow audiences yearning for cinematic feasts.” – Jay Weissberg, Variety. In Italian with English subtitles.
Fri, Nov 15, 2013 – 7:30pm
A PERFECT FAMILY / WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT
Double Feature! Los Angeles Premieres! Actresses In Person!
2012, Lotus Production, 120 min, Italy, Dir: Paolo Genovese
The latest film from director Paolo Genovese (THE IMMATURE) earned a Nastro d’Argento nomination for Best Comedy from the Italian film critics union (S.N.G.C.I.). The wealthy Leone (Sergio Castellitto) dreads the thought of spending another Christmas alone – so he hires a group of actors to play his family. In Italian with English subtitles.
Introduction before films with actress Claudia Gerini
WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT (BENVENUTO PRESIDENTE!)
2013, Indigo Film, 100 min, Italy, Dir: Riccardo Milani
The comedic possibilities of Italian politics come to the fore in this affable look at simple Giuseppe Garibaldi (Claudio Bisio), who lives in the countryside, fishing for trout. When a mistake makes him president of Italy, he brings common sense and honesty to a capitol rife with cynicism. In Italian with English subtitles.
Introduction before films with actress Kasia Smutniak
Sat, Nov 16, 2013 – 7:30pm
HONEY / A FIVE STAR LIFE Double Feature! Los Angeles Premieres!
Actress Jasmine Trinca & Director Maria Sole Tognazzi In Person!
HONEY (MIELE)
2013, Cité Films, 100 min, Italy, Dir: Valeria Golino
Irene (Jasmine Trinca, the 2013 Nastro d’Argento winner for Best Italian Actress) helps the terminally ill die with dignity. One would-be patient (Carlo Cecchi) has decided he is finished with life but appears to be in good health – so Irene tries to heal him through means other than death. In Italian with English subtitles.
Introduction before films with actress Jasmine Trinca
A FIVE STAR LIFE (VIAGGIO SOLA)
2013, Music Box Films, 85 min, Italy, Dir: Maria Sole Tognazzi
Irene (Margherita Buy, winner of the David di Donatello Award for Best Actress) has a dream job: traveling through Europe to test the service at The Leading Hotels of the World’s 5-star establishments. Yet in the lap of that luxury, she is alone. The film was awarded the Nastro d’Argento as Best Comedy by the Italian film critics union (S.N.G.C.I.). In Italian with English subtitles. Introduction before films with director Maria Sole Tognazzi
Son, Nov 17, 2013 – 7:30pm
Double Feature! Director Roberto Andò In Person! Los Angeles Premieres!
LONG LIVE FREEDOM (VIVA LA LIBERTÀ)
2013, Rai International Sales, 92 min, Italy, Dir: Roberto Andò
In this comedy, Enrico Olivieri (Toni Servillo) is a politician under fire who flees to Paris. Confusion reigns in Italy when Enrico cannot be found, so his party’s leaders replace him with his twin brother – an eccentric writer-philosopher. The 2013 winner of the Nastro d’Argento and David di Donatello awards for Best Screenplay. In Italian with English subtitles.
Introduction before films with director Roberto Andò (
THOSE HAPPY YEARS (ANNI FELICI)
2013, Celluloid Dreams, 101 min, Italy, Dir: Daniele Luchetti
Guido (Kim Rossi Stuart) is too self-centered to see that his wife (Micaela Ramazzotti) is upset about all the time he spends with beautiful women in his studio. So it’s a rude awakening when she leaves the narcissistic artist for a “feminist retreat” – right after his big Milan gallery show has gone horribly wrong. In Italian with English subtitles.
THE BEST OFFER / THE INTERVAL Los Angeles Premieres!
Mon, Nov 18, 2013 – 7:30pm
2012, IFC Films, 124 min, Italy, Dir: Giuseppe Tornatore
The latest from acclaimed director Giuseppe Tornatore (CINEMA PARADISO) stars Geoffrey Rush as the manager of an auction house who is employed by an heiress to sell an art collection – but the mysterious young woman drives their professional relationship to the edge of obsession. Winner of the Nastro d’Argento and David di Donatello awards for the Best Film of 2013. In English.
THE INTERVAL (L’INTERVALLO)
2012, Rai International Sales, 90 min, Italy, Dir: Leonardo Di Costanzo
In an abandoned building in the suburbs of Napoli, teen boy Salvatore (Alessio Gallo) is told by the local crime boss to guard wild child Veronica (Francesca Riso); as the day progresses, they explore the giant building and develop an unusual rapport. The debut feature from documentarian Leonardo Di Costanzo earned the David di Donatello for Best New Director. In Italian with English subtitles.
Sat, Nov 23, 2013 – 5:30pm
Purchase a ticket to this film and receive free entry to the 7:30 PM screening of LA DOLCE VITA!
HOW STRANGE TO BE NAMED FEDERICO (CHE STRANO CHIAMARSI FEDERICO)
2013, Bim Distribuzione, 90 min, Italy, Dir: Ettore Scola
This documentary by director Ettore Scola focuses on his longtime friend Federico Fellini, using personal memories, archival footage and recreations to paint a loving portrait of the legendary Italian filmmaker. In Italian with English subtitles.
Sat, Nov 23, 2013 – 7:30pm
(If you purchase a ticket to the 5:30PM Fellini documentary HOW STRANGE TO BE NAMED FEDERICO, you receive free entry to LA DOLCE VITA!)
LA DOLCE VITA
1960, Paramount, 185 min, Italy, Dir: Federico Fellini
Director Federico Fellini feels his way from the neo-realist past to the illusory future in this incredible emotional travelogue of the soul of modern Rome. How better to open the free-wheeling 1960s than with this alternately funny, feral, sweet and seductive meditation on what is truly meaningful (if anything) for the dusk-to-dawn Italian jet set? Marcello Mastroianni was catapulted into superstar status as the sensitive tabloid reporter juggling the affections of several women (voluptuous movie star Anita Ekberg, icy mistress Anouk Aimee and neurotic girlfriend Magali Noel) while making the rounds of the spirit-destroying nightlife of the Via Veneto. Mastroianni’s scene with Ekberg in the Trevi Fountain at dawn remains one of the most timeless, memorable images ever to emerge from world cinema. “I feel that decadence is indispensable to rebirth.” – Fellini. In Italian with English subtitles.
The Cinema Italian Style series is organized and produced by Luce Cinecittà and the American Cinematheque. The two organizations have worked together since 1995 to bring to Los Angeles the best Italian contemporary productions as well as classics, such as the recent retrospective dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini.
This year’s edition is benefiting from the results of important collaborations with leading film and cultural organizations: A first time partnership with AFI FEST, which includes an evening dedicated to Bernardo Bertolucci, one of the greatest Maestros of Italian Cinema, who will be on hand to present the US premiere of the restored version of his 9-time Oscar® winning movie “The Last Emperor” in 3D on November 10th.
A selection of Archivio Luce vintage photographs featuring portraits of leading actors from international cinema visiting Rome in the 50’s from the exhibition “Hollywood – Roma”, will also be on display at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres during the AFI FEST.
In a growing collaboration with UCLA, Bertolucci will also conduct a Master Class at UCLA on November 12th, moderated by Bob Rosen, Dean Emeritus and Professor of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
The Los Angeles Italian Cultural Institute will continue the celebration of Italian film-making with the presentation of a special Cinema Italian Style documentary series, running November 15-20 and including films on Italian legends of cinema (Bernardo Bertolucci, Carlo Verdone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Anna Magnani, Furio Scarpelli, Giuliano Montaldo) and works about contemporary and social themes (Anija and Terramatta;). The ICI will also host the photograph exhibition “Portraits” by Fabio Lovino (November 14th- December 31st), one of the most versatile contemporary Italian photographers and present Movie’n Food, an event organized by Dress in Dreams, celebrating the relationship between food and cinema.
Every year, Cinema Italian Style bestows the prestigious Cinema Italian Style Award upon a prominent figure of Italian cinema and/or a member of the U.S. film industry with unique ties to Italian cinema. Past recipients include: Terry Gilliam, George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Raoul Bova, Terry Gilliam, Rick Nicita, Ed Limato, Anjelica Huston, Valeria Golino, Jo Champa, Dino De Laurentiis, Gabriele Muccino, John Turturro, Vittorio Storaro and Milena Canonero.
Cinema Italian Style 2013 is produced by: Luce Cinecittà and the American Cinematheque, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Culture-Film Department, the Italian Trade Commission, Los Angeles, Leading Hotels of the World, Marchon, Rossano Ferretti, Tichebox for K-Way, Uber, Vhernier. Media Partner: Variety. In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, Los Angeles. Under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. The program is part of the celebrations of 2013 – Year of the Italian Culture in the USA.
http://www.cinemaitalianstyle.net/home.html