This year’s awarding jury at the International Competition for film music will be presided by the author and director Luciano De Crescenzo. The award is dedicated to the composer Mario Nascimbene and promoted for the third time by “MusicArte International” in cooperation with the local administration of Orsogna (Chieti). The manager and composer Andrea Mascitti is the organiser and art director. Gian Luigi Rondi (president of the “David Di Donatello” Association) is the president of honour. 

The final performance will take place on 22^nd May at the “Camillo De Nardis” theatre of Orsogna. Part of the jury will be composed by the actors Franco Nero and Alessandro Haber, the composers Lino Patruno and Riccardo Giagni (the latter being the music writer of Marco Bellocchio’s last two films “L’ora di religione” and “Buongiorno, notte”), the musicologist and composer Vincenzo Caporaletti, the film critic Ermanno Comuzio and Mario Verdone, emeritus university professor of film history and critics.  

Mario Nascimbene wrote more than 400 sound-tracks, amongst which the music for "The Barefoot Countess" of Mankiewicz, with Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, and Edmond O'Brien; "Alexander the Great" with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom; "Goodbye to Arms" with Rock Hudson; "Barabba" with Anthony Quinn, Vittorio Gassman and Silvia Mangano; "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba", with Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida; "The Vikings" with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis; "Doctor Faustus" with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. He also composed sound tracks of some television productions and documentaries. He was the first Italian composer invited to go to Hollywood. Amongst the awards he received are three Nastri d'Argento and, in 1991, a special David di Donatello career award.

The competition is open to composers of all nationalities. The deadline to submit application is   27^th March. The participation fee is 65 €. The participants are asked to prepare an unpublished piece of music for some scenes, lasting about five minutes, taken from Richard Fleischer’s film “Barabba”, for which Nascimbene wrote the soundtrack.

The Selecting Jury, made up of the president Silvio Feliciani (composer), Caterina Nascimbene (“Maestro” Mario’s wife, member of the David Di Donatello Association’s jury), Ermanno Comuzio and Vincenzo Caporaletti, will examine and select six of the received compositions, which will take part in the final performance.

The best composition will be awarded the MARIO NASCIMBENE AWARD. The winner will be recommended to the film production corporation and will receive a scholarship of 2,500 € offered by ERREBIAN plc (www.errebian.it).