Actresses Jacqueline Fernandez and Violante Placido will receive the “Women Excellence Award - In the Name of Lina Wertmüller” at the 18th edition of the Los Angeles Italia – Film, Fashion and Art Festival. Taking place between March 5-11, 2023, the event is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Culture, DG Cinema and Intesa Sanpaolo, and was supported by the legendary Italian director Lina Wertmüller. 

The two actresses will be feted on Monday, March 6, at TCL Chinese Theatres after a special screening of the film “Tell It Like A Woman,” which is produced by Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi for ILBE in collaboration with Chiara Tilesi’s “We Do It Together.”

The star-studded, female-focused film’s song “Applause,” written by Diane Warren and performed by Sofia Carson, was recently nominated for an Academy Award. Warren and Carson will be acknowledged together with filmmakers Catherine Hardwicke and Maria Sole Tognazzi. 

Former Miss Sri Lanka 2006 and model, Jacqueline Fernandez, stars in “Tell It Like A Woman.” A true superstar of Bollywood musicals, in 2010, Fernandez received an IIFA award and a Stardust award for Star Debut of the Year for her role in the fantasy drama “Aladin.” 

Violante Placido is back in Hollywood after starring alongside George Clooney in “The American,” Nicholas Cage in “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” as well as the television series “The Transporter.”

The Los Angeles Italia – Film, Fashion and Art Festival 2023 will also honor Italian American actor Frank Grillo (“Lamborghini – The Man Behind The Legend”) and filmmaker Ferzan Özpetek with a film retrospective. The festival is promoted by the Capri in the World Institute and chaired by Oscar-winning producer Bobby Moresco, with the patronage of the Consulate General and by the Italian Institute of Culture in Los Angeles.