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.
Here is an interview with Alberto Di Mauro, director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Los Angeles about Cinema Italian Style 2013.
Bijan Tehrani: Please tell us about what differences we will see in 2013?
Alberto Di Mauro: This year is a special one because it is the Year of the Italian Culture in United States. This edition of the film festival reflects the importance of this celebrations; in fact, we have an impressive delegation of artists and professionals of the industry coming directly from Italy. First of all, directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Paolo Sorrentino. Just last Sunday we saw at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood the new 3D version of Bertolucci’s masterpiece, “The Last Emperor” , and today we saw his last release “Me and You”.
Paolo Sorrentino, instead, will present “The Great Beauty”, which is Italy’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards. We also have many other films that will screen at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, and many other important events, also at the Italian Culture Institute.
We are hosting an important exhibition by world-renowned photographer Fabio Lovino; we are also going to have a special evening dedicated to “Cinema and Food” and their many associations in the Italian cinema; there will be even music, with a piano concert that is also a homage to Italian films.
During the week of Cinema Italian Style the Italian Cultural Institute will host almost every day the screening of some documentaries, which theme goes from portraits of cinema icons, like Bertolucci, Tornatore, Magnani, Giuliano Montaldo to culture and social history. In this way for the first time the Italian Cultural Institute will become a main venue of the Festival.
Bijan Tehrani: I assume that there are several guests attending the festival; you mentioned a few of them. Can you please name any additional guest?
Alberto Di Mauro: Besides the famous film directors mentioned before, I mean Bernardo Bertolucci and Paolo Sorrentino, we also have actresses Jasmine Trinca, Claudia Gerini, Kasja Smutniak and Maria Sole Tognazzi, producer Nicola Giuliano, and many other names of the Italian cinema industry. All of them represent in a very good way the vitality of Italian contemporary cinema.
Bijan Tehrani: You mentioned that are other events besides the screening of the films.
Alberto Di Mauro: Yes, there will be an event tomorrow at the Institute, based on food, cinema and photography. We have also promoted a presentation at UCLA with Maestro Bertolucci, who introduces his latest film and will discuss his career with scholars and students.
Bijan Tehrani: How can audiences attend the screenings of the films and the events?
Alberto Di Mauro: You can reserve your tickets by visiting our website. Hurry because tickets are limited!