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The 9th edition of Filming Italy Los Angeles Festival, honoring the absolute best of Italian cinema and furthering the collaborative relationship between Hollywood and Italy, has set its kick-off event for Monday, February 26th at Aero Theater in Santa Monica with a special screening of Django, starring legendary actor Franco Nero, who will be in attendance.

“For the ninth year in a row, we are honored to further fuel this partnership by highlighting the best of Italian film and Hollywood’s groundbreaking films spotlighted during awards season 2024,” comments Filming Italy artistic director/ceo Tiziana Rocca.

This year’s opening night red carpet gala is set for Tuesday, February 27th at the Directors Guild of America (DGA), featuring the U.S. premiere of Italian feature, I Told You So (BIM Distribuzione), starring Greta Scaatchi, Valeria Golino, Danny Huston, Ginevra Elkann, Riccardo Scamarcio, and others. The theater program will begin at 6:30 pm and include special presentations by the director of Italian Institute of Culture, Emanuele Amendola, and the Honorable Consul General of Italy, Raffaella Valentini. The feature Race for Glory, starring Riccardo Scamarcio and Daniel Bruhl, will also be screened on the evening. Rising star European actress Ilenia Pastorelli has been appointed as honorary ambassador and head of this year’s festival.

One of the festival’s highlights each year is the Italian Trade Agency’s (ITA) filmmakers industry panel, produced in collaboration with Women in Film Los Angeles, scheduled for Tuesday, February 27th from 4-5 pm at the DGA. Helmed by Rocca and ITA’s Allessandra Rainaldi, the panel will feature directors Ginevra Elkann and Kelley Kali, actor/producer Ricardo Scamarcio, and president of TV, AGBO, Scott Nemes, with journalist Lucia Magi as moderator.

A red carpet special evening scheduled for Thursday, February 29th at the Harmony Gold Theater will close the event, featuring the U.S. premiere of Diabolik, with director Marco Manetti and star Giacomo Gianniotti (Grey’s Anatomy), Academy Award-winning screenwriter David Mamet, Ms. Pastorelli, Miss Italy Francesca Bergesio, and a number of dignitaries, expected to be in attendance. Additionally, Franco Nero will be presented with the Lifetime Actor’s Achievement Award by Dolph Lundgren, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture, with Nero’s most recent film, Giorni Felici (Happy Days) by director Simone Petralia to be screened.  Ashley Greene will also receive an award at the closing, and will be joined by such notables as Marisa Tomei, John Savage, Joe Cortese, as well as leading executives.

Filming Italy Los Angeles was created and organized by Tiziana Rocca, Agnus Dei and the Italian Cultural Institute Los Angeles under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage “MiC”, auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles and in collaboration with APA – Audiovisual Producers Association.