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Italian Institute of Culture Awards Pepperdine with Film Collection 

The Italian Institute of Culture has awarded Pepperdine University with a one-of-a-kind film collection encompassing 133 classic Italian movies and cultural documentaries, providing educational enrichment for numerous students enrolled in Italian language and film courses. 

Pepperdine is the first university in Southern California to receive such a unique donation from the institute, a governmental agency established by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote Italian language and culture worldwide.

Paola Lorenzi, assistant professor of Italian, was instrumental in achieving this award for Pepperdine, due to her longstanding relationship with the institute, the Italian cinema and culture course she teaches, and the possibility of a Masters in Cinema Studies program at Pepperdine.

“The serendipitous and generous gift received from the Italian Cultural Institute is yet another testimony of the strong ties and close collaboration long-established between this Italian governmental office and Pepperdine University,” says Lorenzi, who also succeeded in obtaining a grant from the institute to establish the Italian minor at Pepperdine in 1998. Pepperdine was the first private institution to receive this type of grant.

“We are extremely thankful to Dr. Francesca Valente for selecting our campus and Italian program," Lorenzi continues, "as the recipient of this rare and vast collection of Italian films, which will serve to launch and support our latest and most recently approved course in Italian cinema. The video library will certainly be a new and invaluable tool for the entire Pepperdine learning community."

The collection includes both rare and classic Italian cinematic films such as the works of Federico Fellini (Ginger and Fred, I Vitelloni), video performances of Pavarotti, world-renowned operas like Nabucco and Rugantino, and an extensive collection of historical documentaries such as The History of Facism and Federco Zeri presents Lorenzo de Medici. All of the films are both in English and Italian with subtitles.

Housed in Payson Library, the collection will be part of the online searchable catalog and available for checkout to the entire Pepperdine community.