Italy's Ischia Fest to Honor Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Actors of the Year

The 12-year-old star-studded island festival will also celebrate Sylvester Stallone, Ferzan Ozpetek and Paolo Virzi.

ROME – The Ischia Global Film & Music Fest announced Monday it would honor Jessica Chastain and Chiwetel Ejiofor as actress and actor of the year.

The July 12-20 event will dedicate a special evening to Chastain, including the Italian premiere of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them, which was unveiled in May at the Cannes Film Festival. The film will open in the U.S. in September.

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It will be the second Italian honor in less than a year for the 34-year-old Chastain, who won back-to-back Oscar nominations for The Help and Zero Dark Thirty. She was honored last July as the guest of honor at the Giffoni Film Festival.

Ejiofor, who earned his first Oscar nomination this year for his work in 12 Years a Slave, will be similarly honored.

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As announced previously, the 12-year-old event, held on the picturesque island of Ischia, off the coast of Naples, also will honor Sylvester Stallone, Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb, acclaimed director Ferzan Ozpetek, and Italy's Paolo Virzi, whose latest film, The Human Capital (Il capitale umano), has torn through the Italian awards season. Israeli singer Noa will open the event with a July 12 concert.

Twitter: @EricJLyman