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ROME 2014

Rome Film Festival: a viewer’s festival

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- From 16 to 25 October the ninth edition of the Roman festival will take place; the third directed by Marco Müller. Awarding the prizes is the audience

Rome Film Festival: a viewer’s festival
La foresta di ghiaccio by Claudio Noce

The Rome Film Festival returns to its festive origins and sets its sights entirely on the audience. The main change to the Roman festival, the 9th edition of which will take place from 16 to 25 October 2014 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, thus confirms (as previously anticipated during the summer – read the news) the abolition of the international jury and the leading role of viewers who will be called on to award prizes, based on preferences expressed after movie screenings, in all of the competition categories: Cinema d’Oggi, Gala, Mondo Genere, Prospettive Italia (fiction and documentary).

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The motto for this third edition directed by Marco Müller, who’s relying on a budget of 6 million euro half of which provided by the 38 private sponsors and on the renewed participation of Mibact (Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities) (read the news), is “change”: “The results of other festivals have shown that our concept is outdated”, confirmed today the artistic director at the presentation of the official lineup; his contract ends in December, “and Rome is now more than ever suited to new formulas, because it’s dynamic  and evolving”. Concerning the long-standing issue of competition with the Venice Film Festival, Müller added that “there’s room for everyone, the important thing is to preserve our regional initiatives. And that’s what we strive to do, by creating new paths and by  maintaining a fair distance from both the Venice and Turin festivals”.

Looking at this year’s lineup, there are 51 feature films in the official selection (24 of which world premieres and 11 of which first works) and 21 countries are represented. In the Cinema d’Oggi competition, which hosts both new and well-known auteur films, three Italian movies stand out: Biagio by Pasquale Scimeca, La foresta di ghiaccio by Claudio Noce, with Emir Kusturica and Ksenia Rappoport, and I milionari [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Alessandro Piva. Featuring among the European world premieres are Lucifer by Belgian Gust Van den Berghe, and German The Lies of the Victors by Christoph Hochhäusler and We Are Young. We Are Strong by Burhan Qurbani. Worth noting among the European premieres are Trash by English director Stephen Daldry (in collaboration with the independent sidebar Alice nella Città – read the programme) and the Portuguese movie The Maias - Story of a Portuguese Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by João Botelho

In Gala, a selection of “popular but original” movies, viewers can expect to see Buoni a nulla by Gianni Di Gregorio, Tre tocchi by Marco Risi and Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Charles Gillibert
interview: Mia Hansen-Løve
film profile
]
by French Mia Hansen-Løve, as well as Phoenix [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile
]
by German Christian Petzold, Soul Boys of the Western World [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a first work by British director George Hencken about Spandau Ballet, Escobar: Paradise Lost [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
by Andrea Di Stefano, with Benicio del Toro, and the comedies that will open and close the festival: Soap opera [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
by Alessandro Genovesi and Andiamo a quel paese [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Ficarra and Picone (read the news). In Mondo Genere, the only European appearance is La prochaine fois je viserai le coeur [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Cédric Anger, while in the Prospettive Italia section 8 films are scheduled (5 of which documentaries), including Fino a qui tutto bene by Roan Johnson and Largo Baracche by Gaetano di Vaio.

The public events worth mentioning include; dates with Park Chan-Wook; Clive Owen (protagonist of an evening-event in which Steven Soderbergh’ series The Knick will be screened); Takashi Miike (who will receive the Director Maverick Award), Wim Wenders and Asia Argento. Brazilian director Walter Salles will pick up the Marc’Aurelio Lifetime Achievement Award. Finally, worth remembering, from 17 to 21 October, the rendez-vous with the Rome International Film Market, which this year recorded 25% more international appearances (and registration is still open).

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(Translated from Italian)

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