ROME INAUGURATES STAR-STUDDED FILM FESTIVAL FRIDAY
by Katia Dolmadjian

Agence France Presse — English
October 11, 2006 Wednesday

Rome kicks off the first edition of its film festival on Friday with
16 movies in competition, several high-profile world premieres and a
galaxy of stars including Nicole Kidman, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo
di Caprio.

Despite demure denials by the organizers, the event is seen as a
potentially serious rival to the venerable Mostra of Venice.

Kidman will be on hand to unveil "Fur, An Imaginary Portrait of
Diane Arbus," a film expected to make waves with its departure
from biographical fact and the sheer originality of director Steven
Shainberg’s approach to the life of the controversial photographer
of freaks.

To run from Friday until October 21, the RomeFilmFest will also
feature appearances by Monica Bellucci, George Clooney, Robert De Niro,
Harvey Keitel, Sean Connery and Luc Besson.

Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, the festival’s mastermind, said he wants it
to be "a great popular fete entirely dedicated to the cinematic art."

The ardent cinephile has rejected any talk of a rivalry between the
RomeFilmFest and the decades-old Mostra, saying the two cities and
their respective festivals "help each other with reciprocal love
and respect."

The Rome program is in fact less flamboyant than the Mostra, but it
enjoys a much larger budget — by several million euros (dollars) —
thanks to private donations.

Many big stars jumped at the invitation to attend.

The feature-length films in competition include French director Robert
Guediguian’s "Armenia", "Primo Levi’s Journey" by Italy’s Davide
Ferrario, "A Casa Nostra" (At Our House) by Francesca Comencini, also
Italian, and Georgian filmmaker Otar Iosseliani’s "Gardens in Autumn".

Three Asian films are in the running: "Nightmare Detective" by Shinya
Tsukamoto of Japan, "After This Our Exile" by Patrick Tam of Hong Kong,
and "The Go Master" by Tian Zhuangzhuang of China.

Another point of pride for the organizers is the amount of space
offered to the public: some 40,000 seats with affordable tickets
ranging from five to 10 euros (6.20 to 12.50 dollars) on sale at
kiosks.

This "democratization" will also see screenings both in the city
center and on Rome’s periphery.

What is more, the organizers have put together a unique jury made up
of 50 ordinary moviegoers, headed by Italian filmmaker Ettore Scola.

On October 21 they will bestow three awards: best picture (for 200,000
euros), best actress and best actor.

On Saturday Bellucci will offer "Napoleon and Me" alongside Frenchman
Daniel Auteuil, retracing Bonaparte’s life in exile on Elba.

Scorsese, the US director with Sicilian roots, will on Sunday present
"The Departed," a drama from the Boston underworld teaming Di Caprio
with Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon.

The weekend will see Rome’s Via Veneto — setting of Rome’s iconic
"La Dolce Vita" — turned into "Business Street", where films and
screenplays will be showcased for industry clients.