Rome Film Fest, scheduled at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, announces at a press conference the opening of its 18th edition from Oct. 18-29. Cinema per Roma Foundation President Gian Luca Farinelli calls the kermesse “the festival of the whole city,” with events and screenings spread among various Roman venues and cultural realities, including the Maxxi and the Casa del Cinema.
This edition’s poster is a smiling Anna Magnani turning her back on the paparazzi as she is presented with the Oscar, which she did not go to collect, for the 1955 film “The Rose Tattoo,” whose restored version will be premiered during the festival. Other names linked to Roman-ness are Renato Zero, star of Ciao Ni’ , a newly restored cult film, and Ferzan Ozpetek, who premieres the film “Nuovo Olimpo,” a love story between two young people spanning three decades, starting in the late 1970s. Also, the documentary “Roma nuda e santa,” signed by Roberto D’Agostino, Marco Giusti and Daniele Ciprì.
Another theme, introduced by Paola Malanga, Rome Film Fest art director, is women’s cinema, although she specifies that it is not about pink quotas. The event, in fact, opens with the screening of “C’è ancora domani,” Paola Cortellesi’s directorial debut. Also in competition is another Italian director, Roberta Torre, who presents the film Mi fanno male i capelli, a famous quote by the much-loved Monica Vitti in the film Deserto Rosso. Actress Isabella Rossellini will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.
Tribute will also be paid to the divine Maria Callas. One hundred years after her birth, “Callas – Paris, 1958” will be presented at the Rome Film Festival (History of Cinema section).
Here the program of the event crosses the musical theme. With the Lifetime Achievement Award given to Shigeru Umebayashi, author of some of the most iconic soundtracks, such as that of the film In the mood of love, and the premiere presentation of the documentary “Zucchero – Sugar Fornaciari” by Valentina Zanella and Giangiacomo De Stefano, the focus is on the relationship between cinema and music.
Other highly anticipated premieres include: the series “I Leoni di Sicilia”; the first two episodes of the fourth season of “Mare Fuori”; “La storia”, a series based on Elsa Morante’s novel; and the Suburra spinoff, “Suburraeterna”, sold to Netflix.
The eighteen films in competition, including three Italian titles, can be found here.
Ph Marc Fanelli-Isla/Unsplash
