September 27, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - 310-247-3000

Beverly Hills, CA - Federico Fellini's "8-1/2," which won two Academy Awards in 1963 including one for Best Foreign Language Film, will be screened by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday, October 18 at 8 p.m., in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The film will be presented as part of the "Academy Standards" series.

Marcello Mastroianni plays a Fellini-esque director fending off his producer, his co-writer, his wife, mistress and others while he tries to decide how to organize, and end, his current film project. Flashbacks, dream sequences and fantasy scenes are all part of the mix. Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo, Rosella Falk, Barbara Steele, Mario Pisu, Guido Alberti, Madeleine LeBeau and Jean Rougeul also star.

In addition to Foreign Language Film, "8-1/2" won the Academy Award for Black-and-white Costume Design (Piero Gherardi). The film received nominations in three additional categories: Art Direction (black-and-white: Gherardi), Directing (Fellini) and Writing (Story and Screenplay - written directly for the screen: Fellini, Tullio Pinielli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi).

The print to be screened is one newly restored, made from the original negative. The screening is presented in association with Gruppo Mediaset; the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Film Department. LACMA's film department will follow the Academy's screening with a series of restored prints of Italian classic films, provided by Gruppo Mediaset. For information on this series, please call LACMA directly at 323-857-6010.

Tickets for "8-1/2" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. They may be purchased in person at the Academy during regular business hours beginning October 1, by mail, or on the night of the screening, if still available, when the doors open at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call 310-247-3600.