LOS ANGELES, 12 FEB. – The journey from Ischia to Capri, from Sorrento to the Hollywood Hills, is not merely a geographic arc — it is a story of conviction. A conviction that Italian culture, Italian storytelling, and Italian artistry deserve a permanent, recognized home at the most important crossroads in global cinema: Awards Season in Los Angeles.
I am deeply honored to step forward as President of the Los Angeles Italia – Film, Fashion and Art Festival and to carry forward an event whose origins are inseparable from visionaries. This festival was conceived and launched by Lina Wertmüller — Italy’s legendary, rule-breaking filmmaker — alongside the boundless energy and international perspective of Pascal Vicedomini. That foundation is not simply a point of pride. It is a responsibility.
The festival arrives this year at a remarkable moment. As the 21st edition prepares to unfold March 8 to 14 at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, on the eve of the Academy Awards, it does so with the same core belief that has always animated this event: that the bridge between Italy and California is not a bridge built once and admired — it is one that must be walked, widened, and renewed by every generation that crosses it.
My own professional life has been defined by exactly this kind of work. As the U.S. Leader of Contract Compliance Services at KPMG and as the leader of KPMG’s U.S./Italy Corridor — a network dedicated to connecting Italian and American business — I have spent nearly two decades building institutional trust between two cultures that share far more than a love of cinema. They share a commitment to excellence, to craftsmanship, and to the idea that doing something well is never incidental. It is always intentional.
That same intentionality is what makes the Los Angeles Italia Festival unlike anything else in the awards season landscape. It is not a trade fair. It is not a marketing exercise. It is a genuine act of cultural diplomacy — a place where filmmakers, musicians, fashion designers, artists, and food and wine artisans stand alongside Hollywood’s most recognized talents and remind the world that the Italian imagination is not a relic of the past. It is alive, urgent, and commercially vital.
The work of this festival is also the work of a broader ecosystem. From Ischia Global to Capri Hollywood to the Sorrento Film and Food Festival — the route to Hollywood runs through the very heart of Southern Italy. Each stop in that journey refines and amplifies the voice of Italian creativity before it reaches California. By the time our festival opens its doors at the Chinese Theatre, Italian excellence has already been validated on home soil and sent outward with confidence.
This year’s edition arrives at a moment of extraordinary cultural and industry significance. California’s entertainment economy is navigating fierce international competition for both talent and recognition. In that context, festivals that create sustained, substantive dialogue between the American industry and European creative traditions are not peripheral events — they are strategic assets. The Los Angeles Italia Festival is, in the fullest sense, a platform where cultural ambition and economic purpose are not in tension. They reinforce one another.
I am grateful to the Capri in the World Institute, to the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to Intesa Sanpaolo, and to the Consulate General of Italy in California and the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles — all of whom make this presence in Hollywood not just possible, but enduring.
When Lina Wertmüller and Pascal Vicedomini imagined this festival, they imagined a moment of arrival — a moment when Italian excellence would not simply be imported into Hollywood, but welcomed there as a full and permanent creative partner. Twenty-one editions later, that moment is not behind us. It is happening, March 8 through 14, at the Chinese Theatre, on the eve of the Oscars, in the city that the world watches.
Hollywood is ready. Italy is ready. We are ready.
