Feature by
Toby Rose
We may be in the second week of The Times BFI London Film Festival the latest news is that another capital city was holding a film festival – Rome.
London celebrates its 50th anniversary this year but for Rome this was its very first film festival.
Following London’s lead the Rome organisers decided to make the Festival all about the people – a festival for the people judged by the people. The city opened up events to all Romans and a city bus shuttle, emblazoned with the Festival poster, ferried audiences to the Festival HQ in a handsome Renzo Piano convention centre.
But there was also some British flavour. Winner of the Special Jury Prize was This is England directed by Shane Meadows. Critics described this critique of the UK as a return to form for one of Britain’s most promising young film talents. The Popular Jury, headed by distinguished Italian filmmaker Ettore Scola, clearly agreed.
The top prize for best film went to Playing the Victim by Kirill Serebrennikov, based on the play of the same name it tells the story of a young man who plays the victim in murder reconstructions, thinking that by getting close to death he can manage to cheat on his own.. The BNL best actress award was given to Ariane Ascaride in Armenia by Robert Guédiguian and the Chamber of Commerce award for best actor went to Giorgio Colangeli in L'Aria Salata by Alessandro Angelini.
The first Rome Festival certainly attracted the big names. The opening night film was Fur starring Nicole Kidman, who travelled to Rome to present this surreal telling of the Diane Arbus story. Joining Miss Kidman in Rome on the first weekend were Sean Connery and Richard Gere.
Rome also played host to The Departed and one of its stars, Leonardo Di Caprio, came in to bang the drum for this Boston-set tale of Irish gangsterism. The A-list lad signed up to the festival ethos by taking a promotional tour of one of the rougher areas of the Italian capital to screen his latest picture. Local screenings is a lead London might choose to follow. Next stop Brixton perhaps?
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