ANDREA IERVOLINO AND MONIKA BACARDI’S AMBI PICTURES TO PAY HOMAGE TO FEDERICO FELLINI’S CLASSIC “LA DOLCE VITA” WITH NEW FEATURE FILM
Agreement Reached with Fellini Family and Estate; AMBI will Finance and Produce New Film with Daniele Di Lorenzo and his LDM Productions
Los Angeles, CA – July 9, 2015 – AMBI Group principals Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi are moving forward with an homage to Federico Fellini’s classic film “La Dolce Vita” and have closed an option agreement with the Fellini family and estate to clear the way for a new feature film, which they will finance and produce with Italian producer Daniele Di Lorenzo.
Di Lorenzo will produce the film through his LDM Productions banner. AMBI, in addition to financing and producing through AMBI Pictures, will oversee global distribution of the film through its international sales division, AMBI Distribution.
Francesca Fellini, niece of Federico Fellini and the last blood descendent of the Fellini family, is the film ambassador for “La Dolce Vita.” She stated, “We’ve been approached countless times and asked to consider everything from remakes and re-imaginings to prequels and sequels. We knew it would take very special producers and compelling circumstances to motivate the family to allow rights to be optioned. Daniele, Andrea and Monika have a beautiful vision of a modern film, and considering their Italian heritage and deep appreciation and understanding of my uncle’s works, there couldn’t be a better alignment for this project.”
Stated Daniele Di Lorenza: “Since I was young, living in Rome, I was always fascinated by the myth surrounding ‘La Dolce Vita.’ Now I am happy to be part, with Francesca, Andrea and Monika, of an extended mythology.”
Said Iervolino, “All of the elements that made ‘La Dolce Vita’ an instant classic will be ingredients in this new film. Our vision is of a contemporary story every bit as commercial, iconic and award-worthy as the original. These are big aspirations of course, but we have to be bold if we want to match the imprint of the original film and have the utmost confidence this vision will play out beautifully. We’re thankful to the Fellini family and eager to begin collaborating with Daniele, who shares our passion and has been so amazing in bringing this to us.”
“There is a finite number of films that transcend eras and without doubt ‘La Dolce Vita’ is one of them,” adds Monika Bacardi. “As a filmmaker, you can’t ask for better source material or better inspiration for a film. It’s now our responsibility to deliver something that lives up to the mastery of the original. Working with Daniele, a very gifted producer in his own right, and with guidance from the Fellini family, we couldn’t be more excited to fast track this project at AMBI.”
The classic 1960 Italian comedy-drama “La Dolce Vita” was written and directed by the legendary Federico Fellini. The film follows restless reporter Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) over seven days and nights on his journey through the “sweet life” of Rome in a fruitless search for love and happiness. While Marcello contends with the overdose taken by his girlfriend, Emma (Yvonne Furneaux), he also pursues heiress Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) and movie star Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), embracing a carefree approach to living. Despite his hedonistic attitude, Marcello does have moments of quiet reflection, resulting in an intriguing cinematic character study.
Considered one the best films of the era, “La Dolce Vita” won the Palme d’Or at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival and the Oscar® for Best Costume Design.
About AMBI
AMBI Group is a consortium of vertically integrated film development, production, finance and distribution companies wholly owned and operated by Andrea Iervolino and Monika Gomez del Campo Bacardi, Lady of Bayfield Hall, better known as “Monika Bacardi.”
From offices in Beverly Hills and Toronto, AMBI is dedicated to making and delivering high-end, commercial movies for global audiences. With a mandate to serve as a top-tier supplier of mainstream projects for both the studios and major independent distributors worldwide, AMBI pursues top Hollywood talent and international stars and produces six to eight feature films a year.
AMBI’s burgeoning film slate includes James Franco’s “In Dubious Battle,” featuring an ensemble cast that includes Franco, Nat Wolff, Selena Gomez, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Bryan Cranston, Josh Hutcherson, Zach Braff, Analeigh Tipton, Ashley Greene, Ahna O’Reilly, John Savage and Sam Shepherd; the 3D CGI family animated film “Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad,” featuring the voices of John Cleese, Alec Baldwin, James Franco, Angelica Huston and Heidi Klum; the sci-fi thriller “Rupture” starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Chiklis and Peter Stormare, which is produced alongside “American Sniper” producer Andrew Lazar; the psychological thriller “Lavender” starring Abbie Cornish and Dermot Mulroney; the romantic comedy “All Roads Lead to Rome,” starring Sarah Jessica Parker; Barry Levinson’s acclaimed drama “The Humbling,” starring Al Pacino; the sci-fi action thriller “Andron: The Black Labyrinth,” starring Alec Baldwin and Danny Glover; an English language remake to Arto Halonen’s award winning Finnish feature “Princess;” the thriller “Hope Lost,” starring Danny Trejo, Mischa Barton and Michael Madsen; and the action-thriller “2047 – Sights of Death.”
Andrea Iervolino has produced, funded and distributed over 50 feature films including “The Merchant of Venice, “The Anatomist,” and “The Humbling” to name a few. He is considered one of the youngest and most accomplished entrepreneurs in the Italian film industry.
Iervolino was the recipient of the coveted Mimmo Rotella Award for his contributions to the Italian cinema industry. The award was presented to him at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, alongside fellow recipients Al Pacino and Barry Levinson. Iervolino most recently received the Honor of Recognition as Ambassador of Italian Cinema in the World at annual Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF).
Lady Monika Bacardi is the widow of Luis Adalberto Facundo Gomez del Campo Bacardi, Lord of Bayfield Hall, known as Lord Luis Bacardi (descendent of the Bacardi founder, still a family-run company). Renowned for her passion of modern art and love of photography and movies, Monika Bacardi is a highly successful businesswoman who is now committed to producing films, through AMBI, on top of her numerous philanthropic activities.
AMBI Group is active in the distribution of various movie projects in Italy and throughout the world through its satellite company AI Entertainment, a company Iervolino founded in 2011. Iervolino still runs this operation as well as several movie production and distribution companies in Italy, Spain and Canada.
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