Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/765720
18 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 7 news Albert Brenner with (left) Andrea Galante, president of the Leonardo Da Vinci Film Society and founder of the Milan International Film Festival Awards (MIFF) and (right) Filomena Velotto, the festival's production coordinator, at the Istituto Italiano Di Cultura in Los Angeles. ALBERT BRENNER RECEIVES THE 2016 LEONARDO DA VINCI AWARD Press release from MIFF Albert Brenner was honored with the Milan International Film Festival's Leonardo Da Vinci Award for his distinguished career in the art of filmmaking. The award was presented to him at the Italian Cultural Institute in Westwood Village on November 2, 2016. Mr. Brenner, who lived in Tuscany for many years, joined a distinguished group of artists who have received this, one of the highest honors bestowed by Italian cinema. Prior honorees include Carlo Ponti, Giancarlo Giannini, Pietro Scalia, John Daly, Paul Sorvino, Franco Nero, Martin Landau and Claudia Cardinale. The five-time Oscar ® nominee and ADG Lifetime Achievement Award winner is the first Production Designer to be honored with this award by the MIFF. Andrea Galante said, "Not only an illustrious film career, but also a painter and sculptor, Albert Brenner is the portrayal of an American artist merging and understanding with the Italiam culture, and we could not think of a better choice for someone that speaks Italian and was living for more than a decade in Tuscany, an eclectic artist engaging his creativity and passion on many art forms. He was there as a juror at MIFF beginning sixteen years ago and he is here now at the launch of the new Film in Italian Language category of the MIFF Awards." Larry Mirisch, Mr. Brenner's agent and friend, presented the award, saying, "I admire his persistence and his sheer drive for perfection. I find it inspirational. I hope in his heart Albert feels about his work like we do. Like many of his friends and family, I keep trying to convince him how great his work is as Albert…always strives to do it better."