ROME — Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and American screenwriter-turned-director Barry Morrow (“Rain Man”) will be feted by Italy’s Ischia Global Film and Music Fest.
Morrow will be making the trek to the Italian island off the coast of Naples to present the festival premiere of his directorial debut “Smitten!,” an Italy-set romcom based on his own script. It stars “Glee” actor Darren Criss as an American fashion exec who gets kidnapped and taken to the Alps.
Also set for Ischia’s 14th edition, which runs from July 10 to 17, is the first screening in Italy of Iranian director Majid Majidi’s lavish epic “Muhammad: The Messenger of God,” about the birth of Islam. Storaro worked as cinematographer on this film for three years. Considered the Islamic Republic’s most expensive production ever, “Muhammad” was released last year in Iran but has not traveled much outside its home country. Storaro, who won Oscars for “Apocalypse Now,” “Reds,” and Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor,” more recently served as d.p. on Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society.”
“Muhammad” features original music by Indian composer Allah Rakha Rahman, who won an Oscar for the soundtrack to Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” and special effects created by Scott E. Anderson, who won an Oscar for “Babe.”
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Both Storaro and Morrow will receive Ischia Legend Awards.
The Ischia fest is a sister event to Capri Hollywood. Both are founded and run by Italian TV journalist Pascal Vicedomini. They are conceived as bridge-building meets between Hollywood and the Italian and European film industries where attendees can network informally. Netflix Content Chief Ted Sarandos attended last year.
The festival’s honorary board is chaired by American producer Mark Canton, and includes Oscar-winning production designers Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, and directors Paul Haggis and Bille August.
