LOS ANGELES, Feb. 12 – The journey from Ischia to Capri, from Sorrento to the Hollywood Hills, was not merely a geographic arc — it was a story of conviction. A conviction that Italian culture, Italian storytelling, and Italian artistry deserved a permanent, recognized home at the most important crossroads in global cinema: Awards Season in Los Angeles.
I was 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 was not simply a point of pride. It was a responsibility.
I would have been remiss not to acknowledge the extraordinary leadership of Raffaella DeLaurentis, Chairman of the Los Angeles Italia Festival. Her stewardship represented continuity, discernment, and an unwavering commitment to excellence that guided this institution with clarity and purpose. I held her work in the highest regard and was deeply honored to serve alongside her. The strength of this festival has always rested on the caliber of those who lead it, and in Raffaella, that tradition of thoughtful, principled leadership was not only preserved — it was elevated.
The festival arrived that year at a remarkable moment. As the 21st edition prepared to unfold from March 8 to 14 at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, on the eve of the Academy Awards, it did so with the same core belief that had always animated the event: that the bridge between Italy and California was not something built once and admired — it was something to be walked, widened, and renewed by every generation that crossed it.
My own professional life had 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, I had spent nearly two decades building institutional trust between two cultures that shared far more than a love of cinema. They shared a commitment to excellence, craftsmanship, and intentionality.
That same intentionality was what made the Los Angeles Italia Festival unlike anything else in the awards season landscape. It was not a trade fair. It was not a marketing exercise. It was a genuine act of cultural diplomacy — a place where filmmakers, musicians, fashion designers, artists, and food and wine artisans stood alongside Hollywood’s most recognized talents and reminded the world that the Italian imagination was alive, urgent, and commercially vital.
The work of this festival was also the work of a broader ecosystem. From Ischia Global to Capri Hollywood to the Sorrento Film and Food Festival — the route to Hollywood ran through the very heart of Southern Italy. Each stop in that journey refined and amplified the voice of Italian creativity before it reached California. By the time the festival opened its doors at the Chinese Theatre, Italian excellence had already been validated on home soil and sent outward with confidence.
That edition arrived at a moment of extraordinary cultural and industry significance. California’s entertainment economy was navigating fierce international competition for both talent and recognition. In that context, festivals that created sustained, substantive dialogue between the American industry and European creative traditions were not peripheral events — they were strategic assets. The Los Angeles Italia Festival was, in the fullest sense, a platform where cultural ambition and economic purpose reinforced one another.
I was 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 Raffaella Valentini, Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles, and the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles — all of whom made 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 was not behind us. It was happening, from March 8 through 14, at the Chinese Theatre, on the eve of the Oscars, in the city that the world watches.
Hollywood was ready. Italy was ready. We were ready.
