Guadagnino to get Excellence Award at L.A., Italy fest

(ANSA) - Los Angeles, February 20 - 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