Film legend Sophia Loren took center stage Monday evening at a Cannes Film Festival dinner honoring the film icon and her nearly seven-decade career.
Loren was awarded the 2014 Guest of Honor for Cannes Classics, a festival selection dedicated to the heritage of film.
While at the dinner, Loren shared memories and nostalgia,
including some involving celluloid counterpart Marcello
Mastroianni.
"He was an amazing man with a great sense of humor and when
we got tired, he would begin to tell jokes. It was 20 years of
work and fun", said Loren.
Mastroianni, whose face is appearing everywhere in the
monumental official festival poster, was Loren's on-screen
partner for more than 20 years. The duo starred in 12 films
together.
"Of all my films with Marcello and Vittorio (De Sica), I
remember the smallest detail, everything", said Loren, adding
"when filming certain scenes you already know that you are never
going to forget them".
Director Edoardo Ponti, Loren's son, accompanied her to the
dinner, and has a film in the Classics upcoming line-up.
Ponti's La Voce Umana (The Human Voice), will be presented
on Tuesday and stars Loren in the short-film adaptation of the
Jean Cocteau play.
The actress described how she had long desired to interpret
the role, taking it up as a personal "challenge" after having
seen Anna Magnani perform in Roberto Rossellini's 1948
production.
"At the beginning of my career, it (the role) was a dream.
I said to myself I would do it. And now I've done it", said
Loren.
Ponti described his mother as an "instinctive actress",
while she described Ponti as "an attentive, wonderful director
who points out difficult stories".
With her 80th birthday approaching this September, Loren
said that she is doing well: "I feel full of energy and the
desire to 'do', as always".
Additionally, the actress intimated that she has a secret
project lined up, "I have a dream locked away - one thing I
would like to do and have never done, and I can't tell you any
more".
Included in Tuesday's Cannes Classics screenings is Loren
and Mastroianni's Marriage Italian Style (1964), immediately
following The Human Voice.
On Wednesday, Loren will lead the sold-out Actress
Masterclass, where she will recount her cinematic experiences
and memories.
photos: Marriage Italian Style
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