ROME – A special tribute to Italian horror film maestro Dario Argento will be the centerpiece at the 7th Los Angeles-Italia Film Fashion and Art Fest, organizers of the event said Monday.
The Feb. 19-25 festival, which will be chaired by Italian filmmaker Pupi Avati, will feature a retrospective of Argento’s films, including Suspiria, The Stendhal Syndrome, and Cat o’Nine Tails. The event will also feature a special 25-minute preview of Argento’s Dracula 3D, which stars Rutger Hauer, the director’s daughter Asia Argento, and German actor Thomas Kretschmann.
In addition to its homage to Argento, the festival will present the Los Angeles-Italia Excellence Award to Italian production designer Dante Ferretti and set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo. Ferretti and Lo Schiavo both earned Best Art Direction nominations for this year’s Oscars for their work on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.
The festival will also honor Sergio Corbucci, the Italian director best known for his violent interpretations of the Spaghetti Western genre.
The festival will be at Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, with some conferences on the festival’s sideline set to take place at the University of Southern California.
