27/01/2006

"In a city that is home to cinema, where Cinecittà was born and established, and where the urban fabric is already a natural set, we have chosen to create a "festa", and not a festival. It is no coincidence that ours will be a non-professional jury, chosen from among cinemagoers". Officially presenting the Festa Internazionale di Roma will be Italy’s most film-loving mayor, Walter Veltroni (whose favourite quote is by Truffaut: "Film is one of the things worth living for").

Already announced at the Venice Film Festival last September, the event will be held October 13 - 21 and will involve the entire city. The heart of the festival will be the Auditorium, designed by Renzo Piano, while other initiatives will be organised at the Casa del Cinema (including a comprehensive retrospective on Marcello Mastroianni), the Rivoli movie theatre, the Casa del Jazz and the Casa delle Letterature. The "historical salon" (i.e., the area between Piazza del Popolo, Via del Corso and the Trevi Fountain) will have a significant role, while Via Veneto will become the festival’s business area, playing host to the encounters between international representatives of the film industry interested in commercial exchanges and co-productions.

Produced by the Fondazione Musica per Roma, the festival will not rely on federal funds because the previously announced €7m budget is being wholly guaranteed by contributions from the Chamber of Commerce, the City, Province and Region, together with the event’s main sponsor, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, and other private partners. This seems to be the most important news, also because event organizers have been keeping rather mum about the programmed titles. Comprised of five main sections, the “Festa internazionale del cinema” will feature 14 premieres in competition, by filmmakers from throughout the world: Best Film, (which will receive a €200,000 prize), Best Actor and Best Actress will be picked by a non-professional jury selected from audience goers in Rome’s cinemas.

Several other sections will run parallel to the competition films: “Première”, seven evenings of international premieres with filmmakers and actors onhand for Q&As with audiences; "The Actor’s Craft", films, workshops and seminars dedicated to the great protagonists of the art of acting; "Alice in the City", dedicated to children and adolescents.

(Translated from Italian)