“La sesta edizione di Filming Italy Los Angeles è dedicata alle donne, per questo anche la scelta di presentarla in questa data, 8 marzo, Giornata Internazionale dei Dirittti della Donna”, così ha esordito Tiziana Rocca, ideatrice e direttrice artistica della manifestazione con Agnus Dei, in collaborazione con l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Los Angeles.

Rocca ha subito tenuto ha sottolineare “anche la presenza di due opere prime al femminile e il dialogo sulla violenza contro le donne. Inoltre, cercheremo di essere anche un Festival etico: i nostri premi sono realizzati con materiali di riciclo, per non fare spreco”.

18-21 marzo, queste le date del Filming Italy Los Angeles 2021, con presidente onoraria Claudia Gerini, accanto ad Harvey Kaitel in rappresentanza degli Stati Uniti. L’attrice definisce il ruolo cui è stata chiamata: “un onore, un’occasione specialissima. È stato un anno di trasformazione, per me ma non solo, e questo in streaming sarà un Festival davvero speciale, un’edizione ricchissima, con temi a me cari, in particolare quello del potere femminile, perché dal Filming Italy dello scorso anno c’è stata la spinta per affrontare la produzione cinematografica: sono impegnata, con la mia socia Michela Scolari, su Il sale rosa dell’Himalaya, di cui ho opzionato i diritti dal libro di Camilla Baresani, che farò da produttrice e interprete; sto partecipando allo sviluppo di un film, Tapis Roulant, che dirigerò, interpreterò e produrrò; infine, una serie di 8 episodi su Tina Modotti, fotografa e rivoluzionaria, una co-produzione. Tutte cose che dico con un pò di timidezza, che mi mettono emozione, ma per cui mi sento pronta”, ha annunciato l’attrice, al Festival protagonista anche di una delle Masterclass. “Le donne, da sempre hanno avuto una marcia in più e un’opportunità in meno: è bello che ci sia ora questa reale rete di ‘sorellanza’, che si sta rafforzando, sfatando le non alleanze, perché insieme le donne hanno molto più peso e forza. E Filming Italy mette in pratica un’esaltazione della figura femminile, nel suo essere camaleontica, dallo sceneggiare al dirigere storie costruite ad hoc per noi donne, che non significa essere settarie, ma dar vita a un’unione inclusiva. Mi piace vedere spesso tantissime ragazze sui set, anche con ruoli tecnici: sono precisissime e bravissime, e davvero toste”, aggiunge Claudia Gerini.

“Siamo orgogliosi di poter proporre più di 50 titoli, e 27 masterclass, tra cui quelle con Oliver Stone e Tiziano Ferro. Per celebrare i 160 anni della presenza dell’Italia negli Stati Uniti, un messaggio dell’ambasciatore Varricchio, che riconosce ‘il ruolo centrale che il cinema ha avuto negli anni nel rafforzare la grande amicizia tra i nostri due Paesi’. Il Festival inoltre, il 25 marzo, giorno dedicato a Dante Alighieri, avrà molti ospiti che leggeranno un passo a lui dedicato, tra questi Claudia Gerini, ma anche Monica Bellucci”, spiega Rocca, che dapprima ringrazia “APA – Associazione Produttori Audiovisivi: abbiamo tantissime serie tv all’interno del Festival, perché ribadisco l’importanza di portare le serie italiane a Los Angeles”; e così accoglie il ringraziamento Chiara Sbarigia, direttore generale APA, che dichiara: “Come associazione siamo felicissimi e interessati ad essere con Filming Italy, che s’è aperto oltre il cinema, capendo l’ampiezza dell’audiovisivo, con l’ultimo quindicennio in cui la creatività italiana è particolarmente forte e efficace anche con la serialità. Siamo molto felici di partecipare con un nostro panel, che parlerà delle nuove modalità distributive”.

Molte le altre presenze istituzionali, tra cui Luciano Sovena, presidente Roma Lazio Film Commission, che tiene a ricordare come: “La Regione Lazio istituisce un bando per le co-produzioni: 20milioni di euro sono disposti della Regione, di cui 10, con Lazio International, sono destinati alle co-produzioni, per cui il rapporto con Filming Italy è interessante per far conoscere il territorio, anche quello laziale, non sempre davvero valorizzato di recente”. E, parlando di territorio, tra i partner della manifestazione anche Italy for Movies (www.italyformovies.it), il portale delle location e degli incentivi alla produzione gestito da Istituto Luce Cinecittà.

“È importante esserci, la DG Cinema ha sempre sostenuto Filming Italy: è importante esserci per ricordare agli stranieri che nonostante le mille difficoltà, da noi quest’anno abbiamo continuato a fare film, i produttori – e tutto il comparto – hanno dimostrato di sapersi adattare per procedere, senza farsi sopraffare da quello che sta accadendo nel mondo”, ha affermato Maria Giuseppina Troccoli della DG Cinema del Ministero della Cultura.

Una riflessione che abbraccia l’internazionalità, confermata più che mai da Roberto Stabile, Relazioni Internazionali ANICA: “Io, da anni, accetto ogni invito agli eventi promossi da Tiziana Rocca, molto importanti per il Made In Italy, e questo evento è estremamente efficace. Noi promuoviamo le occasioni in cui cerchiamo di raccontare all’estero ciò che l’Italia ha da offrire e questa vetrina è importantissima”.

“Per ribadire il Made in Italy”, continua Rocca, “ci sarà anche un premio alla carriera a Dante Ferretti e Francesca Lo Schiavo, e con loro avremo con noi ospiti ‘gli Oscar’ di tante categorie, oltre al Premio Speciale per il brano di Laura Pausini del film La vita davanti a Sé, per cui saranno con noi Edoardo Ponti e Diane Warren – co-autrice con la cantante romagnola – con cui ci sarà una masteclass dedicata. Inoltre, quest’anno abbiamo anche 20 scuole collegate, a cui diamo la possibilità a titolo gratuito di seguire le masterclass, oltre alle scuole di 4 Stati americani, per condividere il più possibile il cinema italiano. Poi, ‘Variety’ quest’anno ci darà un grosso supporto online per la promozione dei nostri artisti e delle nostre opere all’estero, affinché davvero arrivino ai player statunitensi”.

Ricordiamo anche i premi a Carlo Verdone e Margherita Buy, insigniti dall’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Los Angeles per l’eccellenza italiana, un riconoscimento ispirato al soffitto del Pantheon di Roma, come ha ricordato Valeria Rumori, direttore dell’Istituto, e presente con un messaggio dedicato.

“Il Festival è la testimonianza della forza e dell’impegno del cinema: speriamo che rappresentare sempre di più l’Italia all’estero, anche con iniziative come questa, accresca la percezione di quanto la nostra creatività sia incisiva. Speriamo di portare all’Italia l’attenzione che merita, da parte del cinema mondiale”, riflette infine Claudia Gerini.

Rome, March 8th 2021. The program of the sixth edition of Filming Italy – Los Angeles with the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles was presented today in the press conference. It will take place from March 18th to 21st, 2021 in Los Angeles with 90% streaming, in collaboration with APA (Audiovisual Producers Association) and under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles.

Created and organized by Tiziana Rocca, Agnus Dei and Valeria Rumori, Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, Filming Italy – Los Angeles not only promotes Italy as a film set and bridge between Italian and American cultures, but also supports the cultural growth of Italy through its cinema, the internalization of Italian audiovisual products and supports intercultural relations between various directors, producers and artists. The Festival will be introduced by the Ambassador of Italy in Washington Armando Varricchio and will be concluded by Silvia Chiave, Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles. This year is dedicated to the memory of Lorenzo Soria, former president of the HFPA, who has always supported the event since its first edition.

“The decision to make this initiative part of the celebrations for the 160th anniversary of bilateral relations between Italy and the United States is intended to recognize the central role that cinema has played over the years in strengthening the strong friendship between our countries. Countless stories, images, faces and landscapes told with the inimitable power of film have marked the deep relationship between our countries and shaped the popular culture of the two societies. In these complex moments, we will have the opportunity, through this Festival, to reflect on issues of great relevance: from gender equality to the future of the younger generations. I am particularly pleased that also in this journey we will be accompanied, once again, by the wisdom and knowledge handed down to us by Dante Alighieri thanks to the initiatives planned on the occasion of DanteDi’, also in collaboration with Filming Italy – Los Angeles”, said the Ambassador of Italy in Washington, Armando Varricchio.

“I am very happy to present this edition of Filming Italy Los Angeles today, March 8th, on the occasion of Women’s Day. It’s a date I didn’t choose randomly, precisely because one of the Festival’s central themes will be the enhancement of women, especially in the world of Cinema,” said Tiziana Rocca, who is also the Festival’s Artistic Director. “But we will also focus on some social issues that I think are particularly urgent and necessary around the world, such as human rights and equal opportunities, and then again on environmental issues that are plaguing the planet and threatening the very future of young people. And, of course, we’ll be talking about cinema, in the Festival’s long program: we’ll have more than 50 titles including Italian films, television series, short films and docu-films, many of which still haven’t been released worldwide. We have organized 25 masterclasses and several panels with many guests; Italian and international artists, such as Oliver Stone and Tiziano Ferro, in which we will address the future of the seventh art, so endangered by the pandemic and the lockdown. But the entire Italian film industry and the arts will also participate, with the greatest craftsmen representing the best costumes, the best sets and the best visual effects. And then I’m particularly honored that Filming Italy – Los Angeles is under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy in Washington and is part of the celebrations for the 160th anniversary of bilateral relations between Italy and the United States because of the central role that cinema has played, over the years, in strengthening the strong friendship between the two countries. I would like to personally thank Valeria Rumori, who is organizing the Festival with me, in spite of all the problems linked to this period that have led us to reschedule it, above all in digital mode, and also Claudia Gerini, a great artist and dear friend, who is the Honorary President of this edition”.

Tiziana Rocca concludes: “And thanks, of course, to all the artists, actors, directors, screenwriters, producers, distributors and institutional partners who, despite the complicated historical period that the whole world has been facing, have supported Filming Italy, firmly believing in the importance and power of culture and hoping for a prompt rebirth for cinema and its productions”.

“The 2021 edition of the long-awaited Filming Italy – Los Angeles is unique, the first digital one and will offer this year an even richer panorama of Italian cinema” – says Valeria Rumori, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles – “It will involve well-known Italian and international artists, with the aim of enhancing and promoting Italy, its language, its art and its territories. Throughout the year, the Institute focuses particular attention to the promotion of Italian cinema, with dedicated initiatives in the Southwest of the United States, presented with Italian and local partners. In Los Angeles, the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death will be commemorated with various events organized by the Institute throughout the year, including the original Dante on Film series highlighting the importance of the poet in American cinema”.

March 25th will in fact be the official day dedicated to Dante Alighieri in Italy and the world. On this date Filming Italy: Dante 700 will present: a program that will include the screening of the silent film L’inferno by Francesco Bertolini with the Cineteca di Bologna, as well as exclusive Dante readings by special guests of the 2021 edition and past editions.

Among them: Danny Huston, William Baldwin, Gina Lollobrigida, Michele Placido, Monica Guerritore, Claudia Gerini, Monica Bellucci and Salvatore Esposito. The initiatives are organized by the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles in collaboration with Agnus Dei Production under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy in Washington and the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. Filming Italy LA: Dante 700 will also be presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institutes of Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington.”

During Filming Italy Los Angeles 2021, Carlo Verdone and Margherita Buy will receive the IIC Los Angeles Creativity Award, a recognition of Italian excellence in the world in every creative field. Already awarded to prominent film personalities – among others Monica Bellucci, Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollobrigida, Claudia Gerini, Mario Martone, Gianfranco Rosi, Lina Wertmüller and Gabriele Salvatores – the award consists of an original work created especially for the Institute by renowned artist and designer Emilio Cavallini, inspired by the ceiling of the Pantheon in Rome.

Tiziano Ferro said: “Being at Filming Italy has many meanings for me. As an Italian in the world, honored to bring Italy in my heart and in my projects. Moreover, as a man who, having moved to Los Angeles, needs to feel Italy close. My documentary is a photograph, an experience dictated by an urgency, that of telling ‘the solution’. Receiving this award is an unexpected privilege, which adds value to this unique experience.”

“I am very happy to participate for the second consecutive year in Filming Italy Los Angeles, which has brought me so much luck, because despite Covid I am going through a moment of great transformation, evolution and creativity,” said Claudia Gerini, Honorary President of this edition. “The world of culture, both Italian and international, needs support, we need to send a signal of restart and hope for the future, because, although I have taken part in many productions this year, the theater and the whole category of actors, like many others, is going through a moment of great difficulty. This Festival is a testimony of strength and commitment, combined above all with women. With the passion we have for our work, we all join together to talk about cinema, history and culture in this prestigious container. I am at Tiziana Rocca’s side in this beautiful cultural initiative: thank you Tiziana for giving me this opportunity”. The Italian actress will open the festival with a special streaming masterclass. The Honorary President representing the United States will be the actor Harvey Keitel.

Many talents will be involved in the 26 masterclasses and will also take part in the panels. On March 18th: Edoardo Ponti, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Director award for “The Life Ahead”; Diane Warren who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Original Song for the song “Seen” from the film “The Life Ahead”; Gabriele Salvatores, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Documentary award for “Fuori era primavera – Viaggio nell’Italia del lockdown”; Pietro Castellitto; Claudia Gerini; Sidney Sibilia along with Lucio Pellegrini; John Turturro; Giulio Base; Vincent Spano; Albino Ruberti; and Stefania Sandrelli, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Achievement Award.

In the masterclasses of March 19th: Oliver Stone; Jackie Cruz; Giovanni Veronesi, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Director award for “Tutti per 1 – 1 per tutti”; Margherita Buy, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Pomellato Award; Paola Cortellesi, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Actress in a Tv Series award for “Petra”; Maria Sole Tognazzi; Valentina Lodovini, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Actress for “10 days with Santa Claus”; Elena Sofia Ricci, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Actress award for “Rita Levi-Montalcini”; Bella Thorne; Gianmarco Tognazzi; and an institutional panel with Carlo Verdone and Francesco Bruni, which will be available on demand on Rai Cinema Channel.

Saturday, March 20th: Tiziano Ferro, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Documentary for “Ferro”; Oscar winners Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Achievement Award; Cecilia Peck, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Woman Power Tv Series for “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult”; and Carol Alt.

Closing the festival on Sunday, March 21st: Jean Sorel; Alice Rohrwacher and JR; and Susanna Nicchiarelli, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Director award for “Miss Marx”.

Other artists, however, will greet and introduce their films to the audience before the screenings, including: Serena Rossi, Giampaolo Morelli, Valeria Golino, Giorgio Pasotti, Marco Bocci, Fabio De Luigi, the D’Innocenzo brothers, Lillo, Andrea Delogu, Ginevra Elkann, set designer Dimitri Capuani, writer Stefano Pistolini and Maria Pia Ammirati, Director of RAI Fiction. And also: Matteo Garrone, who will receive the Filming Italy Los Angeles Best Movie award for directing the film Pinocchio; Thierry Frémaux, the Director of the Cannes Film Festival, who to celebrate 125 years since the birth of Cinema will introduce with a special video the film Lumière! La scoperta del Cinema; Marco Tardelli, who will lend his voice to introduce the docufilm on Paolo Rossi.

More than 50 films will be screened during the Festival, including films, television series, short films and Italian docufilms, seen during the last film season and many still unreleased worldwide.

The themes that the Festival will explore this year, through the screenings of films, TV series, unpublished and unedited docufilms, short films and also within the masterclasses, will be human rights, the future of young people, equal opportunities with the enhancement of women in the world of cinema and the restart of the film and television machine after the lockdown. Confirmed also this year the collaboration with Women in Film, TV & Media Italia. Born in Los Angeles, WIF has been supporting women working in the world of cinema and behind the camera since 1973. Today, WIF organizations around the world are working for a more equitable industry through awareness programs, incentives and legal support. From this partnership the Woman Power Award was born, to support women in the film industry: talented screenwriters, actresses and producers.

Filming Italy – Los Angeles, in almost entirely digital mode, will be held on the streaming platform MyMovies, which will create for the occasion a 1,500-seat virtual theater for the Los Angeles audience, which also includes producers, distributors, artists and Italian and film departments of local universities. The online screenings will be visible only in the United States and will respect the expected parameters of security and computer protection with Hollywood Grade DRM.

Past Filming Italy awardees include: Gina Lollobrigida, Rosario Dawson, Monica Bellucci, Abrima Erwiah, Paz Vega, Danny Huston, Vincent Spano, Oliver Stone, Valeria Golino, Riccardo Scamarcio, Cecilia Peck, Jonàs Cuaròn, Jeremy Renner, Andie MacDowell, Nat Wolff, Zack Peck, Lola Karimova, Spike Lee, David Cronenberg, Claudia Cardinale, Edward James Olmos, Raoul Bova, Nolan Funk, Bella Thorne, Halston Sage, Steven Gaydos, Salvatore Esposito.

At Filming Italy Los Angeles 2021, the Lazio Region presents the opportunities created for the audiovisual world; a sector that has seen the presence of international co-productions grow. Thanks to the measures to support the sector, including the call for proposals “Lazio Cine-International”, now in its fifth year with a total budget of 43,817,534 euros. Thanks to “Lazio Cine-International”, important films shot in Lazio have been supported: wonderful natural sets that are increasingly sought after by great directors and international actors. Up to now, 116 co-productions have been made between Lazio film companies in partnership with foreign audiovisual companies, financed by the Lazio Region: feature films, fiction, documentaries and animated films that have won 86 awards at national and international festivals and received 134 nominations. With the support to cinema, Lazio Region gives value to film productions and to the whole sector, to enhance, even in such a complex historical period, a central sector in the cultural, social and economic life of our country.

Also, this year Filming Italy – Los Angeles benefits from the partnership with Italy for Movies (www.italyformovies.it), the portal of locations and production incentives coordinated by the General Directorate for Cinema and Audiovisual of MiBACT, managed by Istituto Luce-Cinecittà in collaboration with Italian Film Commissions, available on app and downloadable on digital stores. The portal provides all the useful information on locations and incentives available for those who want to shoot their film in Italy, as well as many curiosities and travel suggestions for fans who want to visit the places of the films.

Filming Italy – Los Angeles will have the support of major Italian production and distribution companies and national majors, such as RAI Cinema, RAI Fiction, SKY Italia, Vision, Cattleya, Greenland, Eagle Pictures, Notorious Pictures, Discovery Italia, Fandango, Altre Storie, The Match Factory, True Colours, Taodue, Rodeo Drive, Istituto Luce and several other independent Italian productions, often in international co-productions with Netflix and Amazon.

For issues related to environmental protection, Filming Italy – Los Angeles renews its collaboration with FareAmbiente, the European environmental movement for sustainable development, whose president is the philosopher Vincenzo Pepe.

Filming Italy – Los Angeles is attentive to the care and safeguard of the environment, in fact it has all its awards made with eco-sustainable and recycled materials, to promote environmental protection and show that even on these occasions it is possible to consider the planet by using materials such as glass, a “green carpet” and recycled materials.

The Festival this year also enjoys the collaboration of Never Alone, an initiative of the CHOPRA FOUNDATION that aims to help young people with disorders and discomforts, thanks to communities in which to talk and address the problems. On this occasion will be screened a video of its founder, the medical pioneer of integrative medicine, Deepak Chopra.

Organized by Tiziana Rocca, Agnus Dei and Valeria Rumori, Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles

In collaboration with APA – Audiovisual Producers Association.

Under the patronage of: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and MiBACT “With the recognition of the General Directorate for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism”

Under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy in Washington and the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles.

In collaboration with the Embassy of the United States of America in Italy.

With the support of S.N.C.I. – Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani

Under the patronage of: ICE – Italian Trade & Investment Agency, Agency for the promotion abroad and the internationalization of Italian companies, ANICA – National Association of Cinematographic Audiovisual Multimedia Industries, CONI – Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, ITALY FOR MOVIES, ANEC – Associazione Nazionale Esercenti Cinema, CNA Cinema e Audiovisivo, Women in Film, TV & Media Italia, WIF Los Angeles, 100autori – Associazione della Autorialità Cinetelevisiva, ROMA LAZIO FILM COMMISSION, FareAmbiente.

Special thanks to the Cineteca di Bologna, for the opportunity to screen the film restored by the Cineteca “L’inferno” directed by Francesco Bertolini in 1911, on the occasion of “Filming Italy: Dante 700”

Media Partners: AFFARITALIANI.IT, BEST MOVIE, BOX OFFICE, CINECITTÀ NEWS, CINEMATOGRAFO.IT, CORRIERE DELLA SERA, FILM 4 LIFE, FRED RADIO, GRAZIA, MYMOVIES, RAI MOVIE, RAI CINEMA CHANNEL, VARIETY.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Pomellato, a jewelry brand founded in 1967 in Milan, with its ‘Pomellato For Women’ initiative, launched to celebrate the Maison’s 50th anniversary, highlights the importance of female leadership, as well as listening, empowerment, promoting inclusion and achieving gender equality.

Cioccolato Vanini and the leading company in the industry ICAM, which has always been very close to the growth of people, especially young people, wanted to support the Festival and the film industry, particularly affected by the pandemic.

The producer Adriana Chiesa Di Palma for her constant dedication to quality European independent cinema, which is reflected in the activity of the company ACEK Srl.

Sartoria Tirelli, a cornerstone in the history of Italian entertainment, which has created garments and costumes for the greatest international films and plays and has contributed to the popularity of famous Italian costume designers.

Montegrappa fountain pens, small masterpieces made in Italy and perfect synthesis of tradition and innovation since 1912, with which several artists of this edition will be awarded.

San Benedetto, with its ecological cans and glass bottles, is one of the first companies to pay attention to the environment and to the problem of excess plastic.

EDI – Effetti Digitali Italiani, a company made in Italy and leader in the field of visual effects, which uses only renewable energy.

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