This first-ever New York retrospective dedicated to Sophia Loren’s films will feature many brand-new restorations of her most enduring works, as well as an appearance by filmmaker Edoardo Ponti.

The retrospective will open with “The Life Ahead”, directed by Edoardo Ponti. The film has been nominated for an academy award as well as a Golden Globe in the category of best foreign film. It was also a top ten Netflix film in 37 countries. It further earned 40 additional award nominations and 18 wins including a David di Donatello for Sophia Loren’s performance.

“It’s a privilege to represent my family here in New York City ” declared Edoardo Ponti “ honoring the incomparable legacy of my mother, Sophia Loren—an icon of Italian and global cinema. As we gather for this inaugural retrospective in New York, I’m deeply thankful for the opportunity to reflect on her illustrious career. Featuring our film, The Life Ahead, on opening night is a moment of profound significance—a tribute to my mother’s enduring legacy and her unparalleled contributions to Cinema. Directing her in this film has been a truly exceptional experience.”

Sophia Loren’s eternal beauty, undeniable charisma, and naturalism of ever-surprising depth and sophistication have made her one of the greatest treasures of world cinema. Launched to global fame with her vividly embodied turn in Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women (1960)—for which she won a Cannes Best Actress prize, the British Academy Award, and the Oscar for Best Actress (making history as the first actress to win for a foreign-language film)—Loren represented something startlingly fresh and alluring to audiences from all over: here was perhaps the first international movie star. Moving freely between major Hollywood films and European productions, equally skilled at drama or comedy, she harnessed her versatile charm and earthy intensity for a range of directors—from Altman, Donen, and Chaplin, to Risi, Scola, and, on many occasions, De Sica (up to his final film)—and in indelible roles opposite the likes of Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, Omar Sharif, and Marcello Mastroianni, with whom she fostered, across 14 features, one of cinema’s greatest on-screen duos.

“It is always a pleasure to partner with Cinecittà, with whom we have collaborated on some of our most popular retrospectives of all time—and this year we honor a living screen legend with a long overdue retrospective,” said Florence Almozini, Film at Lincoln Center’s Vice President of Programming. “To be able to present some of Sophia Loren’s most iconic films, many of which are coming to New York newly restored, is an absolute delight and honor.”

“I am very happy to promote this retrospective journey to celebrate Sophia Loren at Film at Lincoln Center,” says Chiara Sbarigia, President of Cinecittà. “As we review the long gallery of unforgettable characters that she has portrayed, we give back to the audience a universal talent admired by diverse generations worldwide. The new restoration we are premiering in New York, alongside her other masterpieces, shows us a versatile actress, mastering all expressive registers in her acting: She is light yet profound, and she tackles different genres from drama to sophisticated comedy with the same incomparable mastery. Sophia Loren has put her intense beauty at the service of her immense talent, representing a unique model of femininity that has inspired millions of viewers. With this tribute to one of the greatest stars in the history of cinema, Cinecittà intends to narrate the story of a timeless myth that continues to inspire generations of actors, directors, and cinephiles worldwide and to enhance once again in the world the great strength of Italian cinema.”

“Sophia Loren: La Signora di Napoli” highlights the trajectory of Loren’s remarkable career, featuring new restorations of films rarely screened in the United States, from her ascendant roles for Mario Mattoli (Poverty and Nobility) and Dino Risi (The Sign of Venus) to her powerhouse, Oscar-winning turn in Two Women, to her quintessential collaborations with Mastroianni and De Sica (such as Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; Marriage Italian Style; and A Special Day), and her most recent starring role in Edoardo Ponti’s The Life Ahead. The series will also include ​​the world premiere of a 4K restoration by Cinecittà of Too Bad She’s Bad by Alessandro Blasetti, who gave Loren her first major role in a feature film and features Loren and Mastroianni’s first appearance together as an artistic couple.

Highlights of Loren’s illustrious international career featured in the series include the world premiere of a 4K restoration of Stanley Donen’s Arabesque (1966), starring Loren and Gregory Peck in a deliriously mod comic-thriller; the New York premiere of the 4K restoration of Charlie Chaplin’s A Countess From Hong Kong (1967), his final film and his only film in color, which stars Loren as the titular countess and Marlon Brando as an American diplomat; and Robert Altman’s Ready to Wear (1994) presented on 35mm, starring Loren among a sprawling cast of international luminaries that includes Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Kim Basinger, Lauren Bacall, Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, and Forest Whitaker.

Acknowledgements:

Compass Film; Movietime; Palomar; Rai Cinema; Surf Film; Titanus.

Organized by Florence Almozini and Tyler Wilson of Film at Lincoln Center, and by Paola Ruggiero, Camilla Cormanni, and Marco Cicala of Cinecittà. Co-produced by Cinecittà, Rome.

Full program: www.filmlinc.org