Actress Emmanuelle Seigner, Creative Artist Amanda Eliasch and Oscar®-Nomimated Director Christina Comencini To Be Honored at the 11th Annual Ischia Global Film & Music Fest
The 11th annual Ischia Film & Music Festival will celebrate women in the arts with three very special awards being presented to three very special women during the course of the weeklong festival, which runs from July 14th through the 21st on the picturesque isle off the coast of Naples. The actress Emmanuelle Seigner will receive the 2013 Ischia “Actress of the Year” award, multi hyphenate Amanda Eliasch will receive the “Enrico Job Prize” for creativity and the “Career Cult Award” will go to Italian film director and novelist Cristina Comencini. The announcement was made here today by Lina Wertmuller, honorary co-chairman of the Ischia International Arts Academy.
Seigner’s award will be presented on July 14th, Eliasch’s on July 18th and Comenchini’s on July 20th.
“We are happy to have the talented Emmanuelle Seigner with us in Ischia for the Festival’s July 14th opening night presentation – the Italian premiere of her latest film, Venus In Fur directed by her husband Roman Polanski, which is appropriately dedicated to France, and is part of the Festival’s tribute to that country’s film industry,” said Wertmuller. “In addition to her award, she will also be accepting our ‘Legend Award’ in abstentia for Polanski, whose unforgettable films include classics such as the Oscar®-winning The Pianist as well as China Town and Rosemary’s Baby.”
Venus In Fur is Seigner’s third film with Polanski – the others being Bitter Moon and Frantic. It recounts the story of an aspiring actress, played by her, seeking to convince a film director, played by Mathieu Amalric, that she should be in his next movie. The Ischia screening at the hotel Regina Isabella’s charming beachside outdoor theatre will be in its original French version. The film, which was highly received as an in competition entry at Cannes, will be released in Italy on October 31st by 01 Distribution.
“This year, ‘The Enrico Job Prize’ is awarded to the multi-faceted female artist Amanda Eliasch,” noted Wertmuller, who is the widow of the great designer for whom the award is named. “Amanda, the extremely talented poet, photographer, fashion editor and now a motion picture producer, writer and director, has a dynamic personality, extraordinary creativity and is a passionate advocate of charities. She is the perfect person to receive this special honor.”
Eliasch’s The Gun, The Cake & The Butterfly, which was named the “Most Imaginative Documentary” at this years’ New York City International Film Festival, will have its European premiere at the Ischia Global Fest. The stylish docudrama is a self-portrait of the London-based poet/artist. Taking us from her childhood in the English countryside to her current life as a high society poet/writer/fashion editor/mother, Eliasch's directorial debut is a travelogue of a sophisticated, modern, international woman. Using her original poetry, and a variety of actresses embodying her alter egos, this is a rare, personal glimpse into Eliasch's life.
Cristina Comencini, the last Italian director to receive an Oscar® nomination (The Beast In The Heart -2005) is also an established writer. Her current novel “Lucy” was showcased at the Turin Book Fair this year. Comencini’s multitalented works emphasize women’s issues. “The reason,” she says, “is that we are at a crisis of values currently in a world filled with violence towards women.”
Founded and produced by Pascal Vicedomini, the Ischia Global Film & Music Fest is presented under the auspices of the Ischia International Arts Academy with the support of BNL-Group, BNL-BNP Paribas, 3 Italy in collaboration with Meridiana, NTV along with the sponsorship of the DG Cinema of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the patronage of the Italian Representation of the European Union, the Naples Chamber of Commerce and the Campania Region’s Department of Tourism.
Joining Vicedomini in overseeing this year’s Fest are President Michele Placido, Honorary Presidents Trudie Styler and Tony Renis, and an Executive Board comprised of producers Mark Canton, Marina Cicogna, Rick Nicita, Paula Wagner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, multi Oscar-winning production designers Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, president of Cinecittà Studios Luigi Abete, Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis and Italian movie icons Franco Nero, Lina Wertmuller and Enrico Lucherini.