Los Angeles Adds Movies to the Annual Summer Feast of San Gennaro

For most of the 20th century, the Little Italy district of New York City developed a reputation for knowing how to throw a party by celebrating the San Gennaro Festival each year in September with food, music, dance and carnival. Los Angeles is quickly catching up with the Big Apple by throwing its own Feast of San Gennaro west coast style.

The fifth annual Feast of San Gennaro Los Angeles will span most of the summer with entertainment, games, performances and, of course, luscious food. Being the home of the movie industry, Los Angeles has added an outdoor film festival called “Cinema Al Fresco” to the growing list of festival events. The Los Angeles bash is sponsored by The San Gennaro Foundation which is comprised of the city’s Italian-American movers and shakers as well as broadcast personality Jimmy Kimmel. The non-profit Foundation organizes benefits such as the San Gennaro Celebrity Golf Classic and cultural programs to fund charitable projects for the children and the homeless of Los Angeles. Co-founder Doug DeLuca says the mission is to promote culture, art and philanthropy.

Four Italian themed movies will be shown throughout August at the La Brea Tar Pits Park which is immediately adjacent to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art located in the district known as “Museum Row” on Wilshire Boulevard. Everyone is invited to spread a blanket, enjoy a picnic and listen to live entertainment before each sundown screening. The evenings start at 6:00 p.m. every Friday and admission is free with donations appreciated.

“Cinema Paradiso” will be screened on August 4. This charming movie directed by Giuseppe Tornatore won the 1990 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is appropriate to open the cinema festival, as it is about a filmmaker remembering his childhood and his unique friendship with the projectionist of his small town movie theater who taught him to appreciate the art of movies.