The festival will celebrate the iconic Italian actress with a Hollywood tribute on November 12.

Throughout the eight-day festival that runs in Hollywood from November 6-13, Loren will be celebrated in the form of special festival branding (pictured) unveiled by AFI FEST top brass on Wednesday (August 27).

The tribute evening will be open to the public and culminate in the 50th anniversary screening of Marriage Italian Style (Matrimonio All’Italiana), Vittorio De Sica’s 1964 film that earned Loren an Oscar nomination.

The film was restored by Cineteca di Bologna, the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage and Memory Cinéma, in collaboration with Surf Film.

The Tribute will also include a conversation with Loren about her career, when attendees will be able to watch The Human Voice (La Voce Umana), a 2014 short film starring Loren directed by her son Edoardo Ponti.

Loren became the first actress to win a best actress Academy Award for a foreign-language film for Two Women (La Ciociara), also by De Sica, in 1960.

She earned an honourary Oscar in 1991 and accolades include a best actress prize in Cannes and career honours from Berlin and Venice as well as an honourary César and David di Donatello award.

Loren has won a record six di Donatello awards including a special award for The Human Voice (La Voce Umana).

“In a world where the daily obsession seems to be, ‘What’s next?’ Sophia Loren is a rare and welcome reminder that true talent is timeless,” said AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale. “It is AFI’s honour to shine a proper light on all the gifts she’s given the world across the years.”

“Sophia Loren is a quintessential screen legend, and it is a privilege to honour her with a Tribute that showcases our appreciation of her six decades of influence and outstanding work,” said festival director Jacqueline Lyanga. “Her beauty and style make her a timeless icon of glamour, and the exuberance, sensuality and truth that she brings to the screen in her performances as a leading lady of commedia all’italiana and Hollywood films have inspired countless actresses and filmmakers.”

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