27/09/2007

Running from October 18-27, the second edition of the RomeFilmFest is looking to confirm its success of last year, when the cinemas of the Auditorium registered half a millions visitors. To do so, the team of directors (Teresa Cavina, Giorgio Gosetti, Piera Detassis, Gianluca Giannelli and Mario Sesti) have created a varied programme spread out over five sections: Cinema 2007 (competition), Prémiere, Extra, Alice in the Cities and New Cinema Network.

As previously announced, events will open with Elizabeth: The Golden Age [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Shekhar Kapur, who will be accompanied by leads Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. They will be followed by another seven Oscar winners of the Prémiere sidebar. However, there are also European films in the Fest’s most glamorous section, programmed by Detassis, who was looking to find greater balance between “grand spectacle and quality”.

Italy offers two highly diverse films: auteur title The Days and the Clouds [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Silvio Soldini and the return of horror master Dario Argento, who ends a 30-year trilogy with Mother of Tears: The Third Mother [+see also:
film review
film profile].

The sidebar also features the Italian co-production Silk (based on the Alessandro Baricco bestseller) by François Girard and the Julie Taymor’s UK/US Across the Universe, a musical love story constructed around a Beatles songbook.

The 14 titles of the competition section, selected by Cavina and Gosetti from over 1,100 submissions, come from 18 countries and half are European. France is opening with The Second Wind [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Alain Courneau, there is a Spanish delegation (Barcelona: A Map by Ventura Pons and Julio Medem’s Chaotic Ana) and three Italian titles: Carlo Mazzacurati’s The Right Distance, Hidden Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Alessandro Capone (co-produced with France and Luxembourg) and The Private Man by Emidio Greco.

The winner of the €200,000 prize (to be split between the director and producer) will be chosen by an international people’s jury, presided over by Oscar winnerDanis Tanovic.

The major US names feature out of competition, and include Robert Redford and Tom Cruise (director and star of Lions for Lambs) and Sidney Lumet, back behind the camera with Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

Alice in the Cities, the sidebar dedicated to young audiences, has also progressed by leaps and bounds. Many of its films are crossovers with other sections, proving the importance of the chosen works, beginning with the documentary Let’s Say… by Françoise Maire (also in Cinema 2007) and Prémiere-shared titles August Rush by Kirsten Sheridan, Kevin Lima’s Enchanted and the world premiere of Winx Club: The Secret of Lost Kingdom, the first feature film based on the successful Italian animated series.

These sections are flanked by the New Cinema Network, which supports independent producers by helping them find funding for their projects, and Business Street, the Fest market, which for 2007 has registered a 25% increase in accredited foreign professionals.

THE PREMIÈRE SELECTION

Across the Universe
by Julie Taymor, UK/US, 2007, 133’

The Dukes
by Robert Davi, US, 2007, 94’

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
by Shekhar Kapur, UK/France 2007, 106’

Giorni e nuvole (Days and Clouds)
by Silvio Soldini, Italy, 2007, 115’

Youth Without Youth
by Francis Ford Coppola, Germany/Italy/France, 2007, 124’ - World Premiere

Into the Wild
by Sean Penn, US, 2007, 148’

Noise
by Henry Bean, Martin Schmidt, US, 2007, 92’

Rendition
by Gavin Hood, US, 2007, 122’

Silk
by François Girard, Canada/Italy/Japan, 2007, 112’

Things We Lost in the Fire
by Susanne Bier, US, 2007, 119’

PREMIÈRE / ALICE IN THE CITY EVENTS AND FILMS

August Rush
by Kirsten Sheridan, US, 2007 - World Premiere

A 35-minute preview of:
Winx – il film: il segreto del regno perduto
by Iginio Straffi, Italy, 2007 - - World Premiere

Enchanted
by Kevin Lima, US, 2007

PREMIERE SPECIAL EVENT

Argento Night
Marathon of the Three Mothers Trilogy
Screening of Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and the European Premiere of:
La terza madre (Mother of Tears)
by Dario Argento, Italy, 2007, 98’

CINEMA 2007 SELECTION
Special event – homage to Gilles Jacob
Anna Magnani, lupa romana
Chacun son cinema
On the occasion of the RomeFilmFest, the President of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob wanted to salute Italian cinema and the Fest with a cameo, in an emotional vein, dedicated to the Italian actress who, in his cinephile memory, recapitulates both the soul of a cinematography and the city of cinema. At the same time Gilles Jacob will present and personally comment on the new version of the collective film Chacun son cinéma, a touching trip through memory and “passion for cinéma”.

Competition
Barcelona, un mapa (Barcelona, a Map)
by Ventura Pons, Spain 2007, 90’ - European Premiere

Out of Competition – Special event
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
by Sidney Lumet, USA 2007, 123’

Competition
Caotica Ana (Chaotic Ana)
by Julio Medem, Spain 2007, 119’ – European Premiere

Competition
Ce que mes yeux ont vu (The Vanishing Point)
by Laurent De Bartillat, France 2007, 79’- World Premiere

Competition
El pasado (The Past)
by Hector Babenco, Argentina – Brazil 2007, 114’ – European Premiere

Competition
Fugitive Pieces
by Jeremy Podeswa, Canada 2007, 104’ – International Premiere

Competition
Hafez
by Abolfazl Jalili, Iran – Japan 2007, 98’ – World Premiere

Competition BR> Juno
by Jason Reitman, US 2007, 92’ – European Premiere

Out of Competition
L’abbuffata
by Mimmo Calopresti, Italy 2006, 100’ – World Premiere

Competition
La giusta distanza (The Right Distance)
by Carlo Mazzacurati, Italy 2007, 110’ – World Premiere

Out of Competition – Special event tribute to Raúl Ruiz
La recta provincial
by Raul Ruiz, Cile – France 2007, 120’ – World Premiere

Competition
Le deuxième souffle (Second Wind)
by Alain Corneau, France 2007, 155’ – European Premiere

Competition
Li Chun (And the Spring Comes)
by Chang Wei Gu, China 2007, 105’ – World Premiere

Out of Competition – Special event German Days
Liebesleben (Love Life)
by Maria Schrader, Germany 2007, 104’ – World Premiere

Out of Competition
Lions for Lambs
by Robert Redford, US 2007, 91’ – Co-world Premiere

Competition
L’amour caché (Hidden Love)
by Alessandro Capone, Luxembourg – Belgium – Italy, 2007, 92’ – European Premiere

Competition
L’uomo privato (The Private Man)
by Emidio Greco, Italy 2007, 100’ – World Premiere

Competition
Mongol
by Sergei Bodrov, Russia – Mongolia – Kazakhistan - Germany 2007, 125’ – European Premiere

Out of Competition – Special event Focus India
No Smoking…!
by Anurag Kashyap, India 2007, 150’ – World Premiere

Competition
Reservation Road
by Terry George, US 2007, 102’ – European Premiere

Out of Competition – Special event CINEMA 2007 / Alice in the City
On dirait que… (Let’s Say)
by Françoise Maire. France 2007, 82’ – World Premiere

ALICE IN THE CITY: films in Competition

Un Chateau en Espagne (My Very Best Friend)
By Isabelle Doval, France 2007, 90’ – World Premiere

Have Dreams, Will Travel
By Brad Isaacs, USA 2007, 85’ – World Premiere

Buda Az Sharm Foru Rikht (Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame)
By Hana Makhmalbaf, Iran 2007, 81’

And When Did You Last See Your Father?
By Anand Tucker, UK 2007, 88’

Seachd – The Inaccessible Pinnacle
By Simon Miller, Scotland 2007, 90’

Choose Connor
By Luke Eberl, USA 2007, 114’

Canvas
By Joseph Greco, USA 2006, 101’

La tete de maman (In Mom’s Head)
By Carine Tardieu, France 2006, 95’

La misma luna (Under the Same Moon)
By Patricia Riggen, Mexico – USA 2007, 109’

Partes Usdas (Spare Parts)
By Aaron Fernandez, Mexico – France 20007, 95’

Survivre avec les loups (Survive With the Wolves)
By Véra Belmont, France 2007, 90’

September
By Peter Carstairs, Australia 2007, 85’

Toku no sora ni keita / Into the Faraway Sky
By Isao Yukisada, Japan 2007, 144’

Noonbushin Narae (Meet Mr. Daddy)
By Kwang Su Park, South Korea 2007, 110’

ALICE IN THE CITY: Special Events Out of Competition

Pride
By Sunu Gonera, USA 2007, 104’

Il nostro Rwanda
By Cristina Comencini and Carlotta Cerquetti
documentary, Italy 2005, 50’

Die drei rauber / The Three Robbers
By Hayo Freitag, animation, Germany 2007, 75’ - World Premiere

(Translated from Italian)