Mischa Barton and Andrea Iervolino to receive awards of honour

June 19, 2015, TORONTO – The Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) concludes today with a star-studded black tie gala at The Ritz-Carlton (181 Wellington St. W, Toronto). The gala will follow the closing night screening of Sei Mai Stata Sulla Luna?, directed by Paolo Genovese, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. W, Toronto). The event will host over 800 guests at The Ritz for a night of authentic Italian fashion, food and glamour.

ICFF will also be bestowing the following awards during its closing ceremonies:

* Vincenzo Nisco, art director, RainbowCGI– Award of Honour for Outstanding Career in Animation

* Sergio Navaretta, director, The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship – Castlepoint Numa Award

* Mischa Barton, actress– Award of Honour

* Andrea Iervolino, producer and founder, AMBI Pictures – Honour of Recognition as Ambassador of Italian Cinema in the World

* People’s Choice Award – To be announced following the closing night screening after audience votes are tallied.

Running simultaneously in six cities in Canada, the festival hosted prolific names in Italian cinema such as Marco Turco, whose film L’Oriana premiered as the opening night film, Edoardo Leo, Salvatore Ficarra and Valentino Picone. ICFF presented 28 feature films and 22 short films screening over nine days. The festival was hosted in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Vaughan, Mississauga and Hamilton. The festival brought together over 25,000 guests bridging the gap between Italy and Canada through film. Guests were invited to visit Italy without leaving Canada from the comfort of their seats. The fourth edition of the festival welcomed its largest number of guests to date.

“We are extremely pleased that our films were so well received,” said Cristiano de Florentiis, artistic director ICFF. “With an average 4/5 rating from guests, Italian contemporary film has resonated with Canadians.”

On June 18, 2015, ICFF hosted film industry professionals in their second edition of the ICFF Industry Day at Pinewood Studios in Toronto in collaboration with MyETVmedia and Sheridan Screen Industries and Research Training Centre. Industry professionals were invited to explore emerging technologies with keynote speakers and demonstrations surrounding the theme of animation.

In collaboration with the Toronto International Film Festival, ICFF brought Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi to Toronto to honour them with lifetime achievement awards and a retrospective of their life’s work. ICFF was generously sponsored by Castlepoint Numa and The Ritz-Carlton Toronto.