Q&A with Songwriter

DIANE WARREN

Original Song – “Io Si (Seen)” 

Director/Writer

EDOARDO PONTI

Moderated by MELINDA NEWMAN (Billboard)

Screening Link provided with Registration Confirmation

YouTube Live Stream Q&A

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 – 7:30PM PT

In the colorful Italian port city of Bari, the streetwise 12-year-old Senegalese orphan Momo has ambitions to make his fortune in the underworld of the town’s shady alleyways. One day, he steals a bag of items from the elderly Madame Rosa, a Holocaust survivor who makes a meager living raising the children of sex workers, with whom she once shared the streets. When Momo is forced to apologize to Rosa, she reluctantly agrees to take him in temporarily and the two lonely individuals find an unlikely family in each other through a deep and unconventional bond. The kindred spirits become connected to a common destiny that will change the course of their lives. The Life Ahead is directed by Edoardo Ponti and adapted by Ponti, Ugo Chiti from Romain Gary’s novel The Life Before Us. The film stars Sophia Loren, Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri, Iosif Diego Pirvu, Massimiliano Rossi, Abril Zamora, and Babak Karimi. PG-13 | 94min

Diane Warren is one of the most continuously prolific and successful contemporary songwriters of our time. Her songs have been featured in more than 100 motion pictures resulting in 11 Academy Award nominations.  She is a Grammy winner with 15 nominations, a Golden Globe Award winner with five nominations, and an Emmy winner.  She has penned nine #1 and thirty-two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.  Her original songs for films this year include “Io Si” (Seen)” performed by Laura Pausini for the Netflix film The Life Ahead starring Sophia Loren and “Free” performed by Charlie Puth for Disney’s The One and Only Ivan.  She also wrote the powerful anthem “The Change” performed by JoJo which was released on October 2, 2020, and adopted by the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaign.

In Spring 2021, for the first time in her career, she will release her own album, Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1 (via BMG), which will feature an all-star line-up of talent who will bring her songwriting and storytelling to life, including John Legend, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Jason Derulo, Ty Dolla $ign, Jhené Aiko, LP, and Darius Rucker whose album cut “Times Like This” dropped November 10, 2020, as the album’s first single. She is the sole owner of her publishing company Realsongs.

Diane was honored as an SCL Ambassador at the Holiday Dinner 2016.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Edoardo Ponti was inducted into the world of cinema as the assistant of auteurs Michelangelo Antonioni and Robert Altman. In 2002, Ponti made his directorial debut at the Venice Film Festival with Between Strangers, directing his mother, Sophia Loren, alongside Gérard Depardieu, Mira Sorvino, and Malcom McDowell. In 2011, he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed irreverent romantic comedy Coming & Going. In 2012, his short film The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars, based on the novel by Erri De Luca, won Best Live Action Short at the Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded Italy’s prestigious Silver Ribbon, making it onto the shortlist for the Oscars. In 2014, Ponti took his short film Human Voice, based on a theatrical piece by Jean Cocteau to Cannes. The film starred Loren, who won the David di Donatello Award for her performance. The Life Ahead reunites Ponti with his mother and marks his third directorial feature. 

*** IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ ***

FREE for current SCL members (click HERE to check membership status).

Attendees will be emailed a Screening Link upon Registration and a Q&A YouTube Live Stream link on Monday, December 21, 10 minutes before Q&A start.

Attendees can ask questions on YouTube chat, and the SCL Host will pass them on to the Moderator. The SCL Member Code of Conduct applies to online Q&As.

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