‘VICTIM’ RULES ROME FILM FEST
By Nick Vivarelli
Daily Variety
October 23, 2006 Monday
Film buffs bestow nods at frosh fest
ROME – "Playing the Victim," a black comedy by Russian
helmer-playwright Kirill Serebrennikov, took the top prize at the
first RomeFilmFest, which ended Saturday with organizers pleased,
though event’s debut was far from flawless.
Comic "Hamlet" adaptation, in which a young man learns the truth
about his dead father while working for the police as a crime victim
impersonator, scooped fest’s rich E200,000 ($252,000) pic nod, voted
by a jury of regular Roman film buffs.
"Victim" won Moscow’s Sochi fest in June and has been a minor hit
in Russia.
The Special Jury Award went to "This Is England," the racially charged
skinhead dramedy by Blighty’s Shane Meadows that preemed in Toronto.
Headed by Italo helmer Ettore Scola, the 50-member jury included a
traffic cop, a housewife and a shrink.
French thesp Ariane Ascaride scooped the actress nod for her role
as a gun-toting cardiologist in Robert Guediguian’s "The Journey
to Armenia."
Male thesp prize went to Italy’s Giorgio Colangeli, who plays a
convicted murderer in Italo first-timer Alessandro Angelini’s incisive
prison drama "Salty Air," a festival fave.
Nine-day event drew a copious crowd, with 102,000 tickets issued:
56,000 of those were sold to the public, while 46,000 went to fest
sponsors or the 5,500 accredited fest attendees.
"It’s our first year, (and) I think we can be pretty happy, though
there certainly are some kinks to smooth out," said fest prexy
Goffredo Bettini.
Among areas Bettini admitted fest needs to work on are overall subpar
seat occupancy, as well as overflowing press screenings and snail-paced
press conferences due to clunky interpreting.
But Robert De Niro provided the event with a grand finale when he
attended a public interview and screened footage of his CIA thriller
"The Good Shepherd" Saturday.
Dazzling, if a bit outre, 10-minute trailer of De Niro’s depiction
of the CIA’s origins included a scene in which protag Matt Damon is
urinated upon as he squirms in mud as part of an initiation rite into
what appears to be Yale U.’s Skull & Bones secret society, from which
early CIA agents allegedly were recruited.
"It’s kind of ambitious," De Niro told the more than 1,500 fans packed
into Rome’s Parco Della Musica Auditorium.
Budgeted at a reported $110 million, "The Good Shepherd" goes out
Stateside via Universal Dec. 22. Medusa is releasing in Italy.
De Niro earlier in the day was handed an Italian passport by Rome
Mayor Walter Veltroni. While the honorary Italo citizenship had long
been in the works, process hit a snag in 2004, after a U.S.-based
Italian-American advocacy group complained that the thesp’s mobster
roles gave the country a bad name.
De Niro’s visit to the Eternal City also cemented the partnership
between the RomeFilmFest and the Tribeca fest he co-founded.
He was just one of the many stars who helped the fest secure a spot
on the international map — along with Sean Connery, Nicole Kidman,
Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Gere, Monica Bellucci and Harrison Ford.
With its mix of crowd-pleasing pics like "The Departed" and more
eclectic fare, the RomeFilmFest now constitutes concrete competition
to the venerable Venice fest a month earlier.
Responding to calls for a Rome date change from some Italo
industryites, Bettini said fest will be holding talks with top local
industry reps to "examine the dates situation." But it’s clear Rome
will fight tooth and nail not to relinquish its October slot, which
is ideal for its Business Street market, as it comes on the heels
of Mipcom.
Mostly geared to European product, mart was attended by some 300
international buyers and sellers. Consensus was it could shape up
into a significant biz booster for them.
Veteran Italo sales agent Adriana Chiesa sold Giuseppe Tornatore’s
noirish "The Unknown" to seven territories right after its Rome
world preem. Having screened in Rome, the Tornatore pic will not be
unspooling at AFM, she said.
"We now have a world-class film event," enthused Rome’s film buff
Mayor Veltroni, who has already secured Sofia Loren to be feted at
next year’s edition.
RomeFilmFest first edition winners: COMPETITION Film "Playing the
Victim," Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia Actress Ariane Ascaride,
"Voyage to Armenia," France Actor Giorgio Colangeli, "Salty Air,"
Italy Special Jury Award: "This Is England," Shane Meadows, U.K.
ALICE IN THE CITY (CHILDREN’S SIDEBAR) K-12 Section "Liscio," Claudio
Antonini, Italy Young Audiences Section "Just Like the Son," Morgan
J. Freeman, U.S.
NON OFFICIAL PRIZES Blockbuster Premiere Award "The Unknown," Giuseppe
Tornatore, Italy Cult Network Award for Documentary "Deep Water,"
Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell, U.K.
L.A.R.A award for Italian Performer Ninetto Davoli, "Uno su Due," Italy