On Tuesday evening the official festival program kicked-off in glitzy fashion with the U.S. premiere of the official Italian entry for Best Foreign Movie for the ‘09 Academy Awards®, “Baarìa”. Academy Award winner for “Cinema Paradiso” and “Baarìa”’s director Giuseppe Tornatore was joined by the film’s talented lead actors, Francesco Scianna, Margareth Madè. The place was the historic Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, where “Baarìa” was screened. Fans and guests filled the Egyptian’s courtyard to catch a glimpse of the action on the red carpet, with many well known talents, from Hollywood, Italy or other countries, there to celebrate Cinema Italian Style and show their support for the pivotal cultural and artistic exchange provided by the film series. The 600+ seat theatre was sold out, as fans of Italian movies anxiusoly waited to see the mentioned Tornatore’s epic drama. The evening ended with a lush dinner prepared by Chef Giacomo Campiotti at Trastevere Restaurant on Hollywood and Highland, while the eclectic sound of Jimmy Gimelli and his band Subway to Venus provided lively musical entertainment.