Emanuele Crialese has been selected as recipient of the "Capri Peace Award 2011" a special acknowledgment for the unflinching commitment against discrimination shown in his latest movie "Terraferma" that has been selected as Italian representative to the Academy Awards 2012. The Rome-born director will receive the award by African-American actor Forest Whitaker (Oscar winner in 1997 for his mesmerizing performance in the movie about the cannibal-dictator Idi Amin) who will be in Capri to chair the International Symposium on Intolerance and Discrimination (December 28th-30th) that will be part of the activities of the 16th Capri, Hollywood – International Film Festival.
The highly anticipated symposium, promoted with the support of the Italian Unicef Commiteee, will be opened by Vincenzo Spadafora recently appointed as Head of the new Italian Authority in Charge of the Protection of Children and Teenagers; among the participants and speakers who will animate this topical workshop there will be film director Lee Daniels who will receive the "Capri Social Award" for his latest movie "Precious" (Oscar-nominee in 2012) in which he showed a strong commitment to the respect of minorities and against any kind of moral or civil abuse. On this occasion, Daniels will show the first sequences of his recent stint "The Paperboy" starring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey), produced by Avi Lerner's Nu Image.
Among the other eminent speakers who will share their views and opinions at the Symposium against racism and Intolerance, there will be Italian-Americam filmmaker Abel Ferrara, Rumanian director Robert Dornhelm, French-Jewish actress Elsa Zylberstein, Caribbean musician August Darnell aka Kid Creole, Italian screenwriter and director Mimmo Calopresti, Neapolitan song-writer Enzo Gragnaniello and producer Gaetano di Vaio (Figli del Bronx). The initiative will also be accompanied by a short-film contest (5') entitled "Apri il tuo cuore – Meno Razzismo = Più Felicità" aka OpenYour heart- Less Racism= More Happiness (regulations on www.socialcinemaforum.com). The schedule of the Special Events of Capri Hollywood 2011 will be presented on Monday, December 5th during the gala night held at Martos-Metropolitan in Naples with the awarding ceremony of impresarios Francesco and Alba Caccavale recipient of the Friend of Capri-Teodorico Boniello award and the premiere of George Clooney-helmed movie "The Ides of March", opening film of the latest edition of the Venice International Film Festival.