The 2006 Los Angeles Italian Film Awards, now in its 8th year, will take place on October 2006 at the historic Majestic Crest Theatre, in the heart of Westwood, Festival Director Luigi Campanile announced today.

LAIFAFEST 2006 is proud to call The Majestic Crest Theatre its new home. The Majestic Crest Theatre has a long and fascinating history as one of the true landmark single screen theatres in the country. The Crest was constructed in 1941 By Frances Seymour Fonda, the second wife of Henry Fonda and mother of Peter and Jane Fonda. Robert Bucksbaum, purchased the building and arranged to take over the theatre operations from Pacific Theaters in January 2003.

The 8th Annual Los Angeles Italian Film Awards founded in 1998 is the oldest Italian Film Festival in the country and is dedicated to building a creative bridge between Hollywood and the Italian filmmaking community. LAIFA also seeks to introduce Italy's finest films and the most promising new talent as well as honoring the achievement of some of the most successful Italian and Italian American artists working in the industry today.

"We are very happy with the new location! The theatre and vibrant Westwood Village teaming with students from UCLA will give LAIFAFEST a new twist and audience,” say festival director Luigi Campanile. He continues, “what’s more exciting is that the selected winners of this years Festival will be offered a distribution deal at the Crest and other North American Theatres.”

”Three Days of Anarchy" (Tre Giorni d'Anarchia) and "For Bread Alone" (Il Pane Nuso) will have their  Los Angeles premiere at LAIFAFEST 2006.  Directed by Vito Zagarrio, “Three Days of Anarchy"stars Enrico Lo Verso (Farinelli, The Stolen Children, L'America) and Tiziana Lodato.  Set in Sicily in the summer of 1943, the story centers around a Sicilian village experiencing complete freedom after the collapse of Fascism.  Giuseppe, a young student, has just come back home and finds himself torn between two girls; the good girl formally engaged to him and a young passionate farmer girl. The only quiet place for him is his home where his father, a great antifascist, reminds him of the suffering and long fight of the Italian people to gain their freedom.

"For Bread Alone" (Il Pane Nudo), adapted from the novel by two-time nominee for the Nobel prize Moroccan writer Mohamed Choukri, is the autobiographical story of an escape from dire poverty by a vagabond involved in prostitution, petty crime and drug abuse in 1940s Tangiers. Directed by Rachid Banhadj, and starring Said Taghmaoui and Marzia Tedeschi, “For Bread Alone” was produced by Gabriele Andreoli for A.E. Media Corporation.

The complete schedule and program will be on line at http://www.laifafest.com by the end of July. Advance tickets will go on sale by Thursday August 10, 2006 , available at www.ticketweb.com