The Italian filmmaker will be honored at the annual fest which takes place the week before the Academy Awards. The 13th Annual L.A. Italia Film Fest is returning to Hollywood. This year's event will pay tribute to Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino and the film's producer Marco Morabito on March 2. The film will compete for four Academy Awards, including best picture, two days later. This year's festival is chaired by Maria Bello, who will also honor set decorator Alessandra Querzola and production designer Dennis Gassner for their work on Blade Runner 2049. 

The world premiere of Hotel Gagarin, a new comedy from Simone Spada, will open the fest on Feb. 25. The opening-day program also includes the U.S. premiere of Beyond the Sun, which features a cameo from Pope Francis himself; All Before Your Eyes, Walter Veltroni's documentary about a Jewish-Italian Holocaust survivor; and The Song Prince, a biopic of singer-songwriter Fabrizio De Andre.