Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave to open 18th Capri Hollywod

Oscar® Nominee Michael Radford to Chair Year End Event With Marina Cicogna as President and Mark Canton as Chair of the Honorary Board

Famed International Event to Take Place on The Celebrated Italian Isle December 27th though January 2nd

12 Years A Slave, Steve McQueen’s searing adaptation of the true-life account of a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-American Civil War South, has been selected as the opening night film (December 27th) of the 18th annual Capri, Hollywood – The International Film Festival. The announcement was made here today by Pascal Vicedomini, founder and producer of the highly respected gathering that celebrates cinematic art and the “made in Italy” cultural trademark. This year’s festival will take place December 27th through January 2nd 2014 at various locations on the Isle of Capri, Italy.

Vicedomini and the Capri World Institute jointly produce Capri, Hollywood, with support from the Italian Ministry of Culture (Dg Cinema), The European Union and The Campania Region of Italy.

“So elegantly constructed,’12 Years A Slave’ isn’t just a motion picture experience that happens to be an astonishing achievement, but it’s also a consciousness-raising, crowning accomplishment for Steve McQueen, a filmmaker whose command of the medium encompasses the full depth and breadth of its most expressive and transforming properties,” said Vicedomini in making the announcement.

“We are truly pleased to have the film as our opening night presentation, thanks in no small part to the generosity of our long-time friend Patrick Wachsberger, Co-Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, as well as his colleagues at Summit International, the film’s producers and Valerio De Paolis, CEO Bim Distribution,” he continued.

Directed by McQueen (Shame, Hunger) from a screenplay by John Ridley based on “Twelve Years A Slave” by Solomon Northrup, the film which stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt and Alfre Woodard is produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, McQueen, Arnon Milchan and Anthony Katagas.

Michael Fassbender, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in McQueen’s highly-acclaimed 'Shame', was recipient of the 2011 Capri, Hollywood Actor of the Year Award.

Vicedomini further announced that Michael Radford, double Oscar-nominee for Il Postino: The Postman and who also directed the acclaimed The Merchant of Venice and Another Time, Another Place, will be the festival’s Chairman and Italian producer Marina Cicogna will be the fest’s president. American producer Mark Canton (300, Immortals, 300: Rise of an Empire) will chair the honorary board.

Additional information regarding films, honorees and attendees will be revealed in the coming weeks, with the final rundown of Capri, Hollywood 2013 announced in mid December. The festival will also present juried awards to the best Italian films of the year and will sponsor galas where the 2013 Capri Awards will be presented to an exciting array of filmmakers and stars.

Other highlights of the festival will include The International Symposium on producing chaired by Academy Award nominated director Lina Wertmuller, who serves as honorary chairperson of the Istituto Capri nel mondo.

Participants in previous Capri, Hollywood festivals have included actors Gerard Butler, Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Freddie Highmore, Berenice Bejo, Eva Mendes, Claire Danes, Hayden Panettiere, Carla Gugino, Imogen Poots as well as Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Melissa Leo, Samuel L. Jackson, Mira Sorvino, Geoffrey Rush, Faye Dunaway, F. Murray Abraham Max Von Sydow, Heyden Christensen, Geraldine Chaplin, Gerard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel, Armand Assante, Matthew Modine, Carmen Maura, Ornella Muti, Giancarlo Giannini. And directors Michel Hazanavicius, Paul Haggis, Baz Luhrmann, Steven Zaillian, Taylor Hackford, Bobby Moresco, Antoine Fuqua, Shekhar Kapur, Ken Loach, Terry Gilliam, Mike Figgis, Frank Miller, Nikita Mikhalkov, Andrei Konchalovsky, Juan Antonio Bayona, Ariel Vromen, Marco Bellocchio, Gabriele and Silvio Muccino, Paolo Sorrentino, Matteo Garrone, Ferzan Ozpetek, July Taymor, Dario Argento. Also, Mariah Carey, Anthony and Sandy Powell, Ann Roth, Pietro Scalia, Nicola Piovani, Elliot Goldenthal, Luis Bacalov and many more.

Capri, Hollywood – The International Film Festival 2013 is directed by Pascal Vicedomini and produced by the Capri in the World Institute. The Honorary Board of the Festival is comprised of Mark Canton, Jim Gianopulos,

Harvey Weinstein, Jeremy Thomas, Avi Lerner, Lawrence Bender, Jason Weinberg, Vanessa Redgrave as well as Aurelio De Laurentiis, Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo, Franco Nero, Fulvio Lucisano and Italian music legend Tony Renis.

The celebration of International cinema will include many film premieres, a tribute to iconic Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, a retrospective of the most remarkable films of the past season as well as ceremonies for the much sought-after Capri Awards that will go to actors, writers and filmmakers.