Italian director Luca
Guadagnino and producer Marco Morabito are set to receive the
Excellence Award at the 2018 "L.A., Italia" film festival on
March 3 at the Chinese Theatre, for the film "Call Me By Your
Name".
The 13th edition of the film festival, set to kick off on
February 25, concludes on March 3, the eve of Oscar night, where
Guadagnino's film has been nominated for four awards.
The film, by Sony Classics, is in the running for statuettes
in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor (Timothée
Chalamet), Best Writing Adapted Screenplay (James Ivory), and
Best Original Song ("Mystery of Love" by Sufjan Stevens).
The film festival is being presided over by Italian-American
actress Maria Bello and executive producer Dorothy Canton, and
honors will also be given on March 3 to set decorator Alessandra
Querzola, who is also nominated for an Oscar together with Oscar
winner Dennis Gassner, for Best Production Design for Denis
Villeneuve's "Blade Runner 2049".
"We're proud to pay tribute, on behalf of all Italians, to
three extraordinary talents such as Guadagnino, Morabito and
Querzola," said "Crash" screenplay Oscar winner Bobby Moresco,
spokesperson for the festival's Honor Committee, which also
includes former Academy President Cheryl Boone and "Suicide
Squad" makeup Oscar winner Alessandro Bertolazzi.
"It's clear that these are special people to honour for
reaffirming our artistic tradition in the world through their
genius and commitment," said L.A., Italia founder Pascal
Vicedomini.
The festival hits Hollywood in the hottest moment of awards
season, to celebrate contemporary Italian cinema through
premieres, performances and exhibitions.
This year's delegation includes Italian singer Tiziano Ferro
(scheduled for Sunday, February 25), directors Andrea Pallaoro,
Cosino Gomez, Francesco Cinquemani and Valerio Ruiz; and actors
Marco Leonardi, Emanuela Postacchini, Maria Pia Calzone,
Leonardo Cecchi, Simone Riccioni and Marianna Di Martino.
The L.A., Italia film festival is sponsored by the Italian
Culture Ministry and Intesa San Paolo Bank; with the
participation of AMBI Media Group, Medusa, Mediaset Italia, Rai
Cinema, Rai Com, Rainbow, and ISAIA; with the support of MAECI,
the Italian Consulate of Los Angeles, the Italian Cultural
Institute, the Italian Foreign Trade Agency (ICE), ANICA and
APT.
photo: Guadagnino with stars Armie Hammer (L) and Timothée
Chalamet
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