Cinecittà • Promotion • Restorations
13 August 2024
Cinecittà & Academy Museum to celebrate Sophia Loren
A major retrospective produced by Cinecittà with the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures pays tribute to the Italian star on her 90th birthday
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Cinecittà President Chiara Sbarigia announces the retrospective “Sophia Loren: La Diva di Napoli”, a tribute that celebrates the most important works of the Italian star beloved worldwide, scheduled at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles from November 7 to 30.
The retrospective is dedicated to Sophia Loren’s exceptional career and is the third event that marks the prestigious collaboration signed in 2019 between Cinecittà and the Museum, the most important international film institution, already the venue of two prestigious tributes dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini and Ennio Morricone.
In addition to testifying to this special bond, the “Sophia Loren: La Diva di Napoli” exhibit celebrates the 90th birthday of the most emblematic Italian diva by presenting new film restorations made by Cinecittà and introduced by Sophia Loren together with her son, director Edoardo Ponti, and Cinecittà President Chiara Sbarigia on November 7 and 8.
The event opens with Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women, which earned Loren the Best Actress award at Cannes and an Oscar® and continues with Edoardo Ponti’s The Life Ahead. The film received several Oscar® and Golden Globe nominations, entered the Netflix top 10 in 37 countries, and won several awards including a David di Donatello for Best Performance.
“By means of this tribute to one of the greatest divas in the history of cinema, Cinecittà wishes to promote the great asset of Italian cinema worldwide by narrating the path of a timeless legend that has unceasingly been inspiring generations of artists through her films – states Chiara Sbarigia, President of Cinecittà – By reviewing the long gallery of characters that Loren has made immortal, we are offering the audience an insight on the universal talent of a legendary professional whose great artistic inventiveness has tackled the most diverse genres – from war dramas to sophisticated comedies – with the same incomparable mastery.”
“Sophia Loren: La Diva di Napoli” features films rarely screened in the United States, such as Mario Mattoli’s Poverty and Nobility and Dino Risi’s The Sign of Venus, the actress’ first appearances, together with titles such as Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style and A Special Day that marked her historic collaborations with Vittorio De Sica and Marcello Mastroianni. The exhibit also offers three new 4K restorations curated by Cinecittà: De Sica’s The Gold of Naples, a US premiere that takes place after the world premiere scheduled for August 27 at the Venice Film Festival; Saturday, Sunday and Monday by Lina Wertmüller based on De Filippo’s homonymous comedy, screened in world premiere in the original television version, and Alessandro Blasetti’s Too Bad She’s Bad, a film that marked a double debut for the actress: her first important role and her first film alongside Mastroianni.
The tribute also includes two more 4K restorations: Arabesque (1966) by Stanley Donen, and Prêt-à-Porter (1994) by Robert Altman.
The retrospective is co-produced by Cinecittà and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, curated by K.J. Relth-Miller for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and Paola Ruggiero for Cinecittà.