The film's creator, Iginio Straffi, will receive a special award at the eight-year-old event.
ROME – Gladiators of Rome 3D, the big-budget animated adventure story
from Iginio Straffi, will have its U.S. premiere Sunday on the opening
night of the Los Angeles-Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest, while
Straffi himself will be honored with the festival's new Italia
Excellence Award.
Straffi is the founder of Rainbow, the successful Italian animation
house located in the Italian region of The Marches, far from the
traditional Italian cinema and television power centers in Rome and
Milan. Rainbow's flagship franchise Winx Club -- highly successful in
Europe but showing in the U.S. only since last year -- will also screen
at the Los Angeles-Italia Fest, on Wednesday.
Straffi told The Hollywood Reporter he was eager for Gladiators of
Rome to screen in the U.S. market, in order to show the quality of
animated features coming out of Italy.
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"Top
quality animation is not the exclusive property of Pixar and Dreamworks
and Fox," said Straffi, who will be in the U.S. in connection with the
festival for a week. "We think we have a top-quality product here, and
we're pleased it's making its way to the important U.S. market."
Pascal
Vicedomini, the eight-year-old festival's founder, called Straffi "a
visionary" and said he is "a perfect example of how contemporary Italian
artists combine creativity with entrepreneurial skill."
Gladiators
of Rome, whose $45 million price tag makes it one of the most expensive
Italian films ever made, opened in its home market last October, where
it has been a box-office success. It has screened in about half a dozen
other territories since then.
Sunday's premiere at the festival will
be in Italian with English-language subtitles. The official Paramount
launch for the film will likely come in April or May, with the film
dubbed into English.
The Winx Club franchise is much more
established, premiering nearly a decade ago and having already made a
splash in around 35 countries. After many delays it launched in the U.S.
in 2012.
In addition to being on hand for the two screenings and
taking home the Italia Excellence Award from the festival, Straffi said
he would meet with various studio officials to explore possible future
co-production opportunities.
In addition to honoring Straffi, the
festival previously announced it would pay homage to iconic actor Al
Pacino with the first Jack Valenti-L.A.-Italia Legend Award for
"outstanding Italian-Americans who made major contributions to the
global motion picture industry." The award, named for the longtime
Motion Picture Association of America president, will be presented by
Valenti's son, actor John Valenti.
The L.A.-Italia Fest runs Feb. 17-23 at Los Angeles' Chinese Theatre.
