Following an agreement with the EU Commission in Brussels, the Ente David di Donatello, the organisation that manages Italy's Donatello awards will be renamed 'Academy of Italian Cinema,' bringing it in line with the Cesars, the Goyas, the BAFTAS and the Academy Awards.

It is hoped that the new name will serve to further boost the international prestige of the awards, which will be handed out this year on April 9th in Rome.

"While the traditional structure of the Donatellos will remain unchanged, the Ente's new name will bring [us] closer to other European film industries," the organisation said.

Meanwhile, the Ente has signed a three-year agreement with one of the country's most high-profile film commissions, the Turin Piedmont Film Commission.

The agreement will see Turin host the Donatellos ceremony for the first time ever in 2005, just a few months before the northern Italian city hosts the Winter Olympics in 2006, organisers said.

As part of the agreement, Turin is also introducing a new cinema prize: the Piemonte-Torino Olimpica prize, which will be voted on by critics and film journalists, and handed out during the Donatellos ceremony.

This year's ceremony will be held in Rome's new futuristic music auditorium and will be broadcast live on Raiuno. The program will be presented by Italy's Lorena Cuccarini on a set designed by Gangs Of New York Oscar-nominee Dante Ferretti.

International guests expected to attend include Daniel Auteuil, Sophie Marceau and Roman Polanski, whose Oscar winner The Pianist will be awarded the Donatello for Best Foreign Picture.

Frontrunners for the 16 Donatellos are Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek's Facing Windows, Gabriele Muccino's Remember Me, Matteo Garrone's drama The Embalmer, Pupi Avati's Il Cuore Altrove, Marco Bellocchio's arthouse hit Hour Of Religion, and Roberto Benigni's Italian blockbuster Pinocchio.