05/02/2013 - The event, taking place from February 17-23 in Hollywood, will feature twenty-seven Italian premieres, a homage to Spaghetti Westerns, with confirmed guests including Oscar nominee Dario Marianelli

Animation film Gladiators of Rome 3D, produced and directed by Iginio Straffi, will open the eighth edition of the Los Angeles Italia - Film, Fashion and Arts Fest on February 17 in Hollywood’s Chinese Theatre. The event was set up to promote Italian cinema in the United States by journalist Pascal Vicedomini and is supported by MiBAC (the Italian ministry of culture). The creator of Winx‘s (read the interview) new film will enjoy its American premiere at the event. It will then come out in American movie theatres in a dubbed English version, distributed by Paramount.

Total Italian films premiering will amount to twenty-seven, including comedies Il principe abusivo [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Pazze di me [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Il peggior natale della mia vita [+see also:
trailer
film profile], La famiglia perfetta, I 2 soliti idioti [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Mai stati uniti. The Lookout by Michele Placido will also experience its American premiere. Director Placido will also be a part of the presentation of a film in which he starred in late 2012: Viva l’Italia by Massimiliano Bruno, and a film he produced: Itaker by Toni Trupia.

Also included in the programme will be a homage to Spaghetti Westerns with Franco Nero, Giuliano Gemma as well as Oscar nominee and star of Django Unchained Christoph Waltz. There will be a tribute to Sergio Leone and Robert De Niro with a special screening of Once Upon a Time in America, and to Francesco Rosi, with The Mattei Affair; and a new award called the “Jack Valenti – L.A., Italia Legend Award”, which will honour cinema’s great Italian Americans. This year’s recipient will be Al Pacino. Among expected guests, composer Dario Marianelli, Oscar nominee for the soundtrack of Anna Karenina [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Austrian director Michael Haneke, this year’s favourite for best foreign film with Amour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Haneke
film profile].

For a complete programme, click here.

(Translated from Italian)