October 18, the thirteenth edition of the Rome Film Fest will be up and running until October 28 under the artistic direction of Antonio Monda. The event is produced by Fondazione Cinema per Roma headed by Laura Delli Colli with Francesca Via, General Director. The Auditorium Parco della Musica will be the nerve centre of the showcase hosting screenings and the red carpet. Same as every year, Rome Film Fest gets the rest of the city involved, with numerous venues both downtown and in the outskirts. “I am particularly delighted to announce the brisk pre-sales for the Rome Film Fest events, which amounted to an 8% increase in ticket sales. This already represents recognition of the superb quality of the films on the lineup and the high profile of film personalities who have chosen to take part in Rome Film Fest even when not here to promote a particular film,” said Antonio Monda. Considering the extraordinary demand, Rome Film Fest offers a second chance to see Martin Scorsese, who will meet the audience before the screening of St. Michael Had a Rooster (Wednesday, October 24 at 4 pm in Sala Petrassi). Following the success of its pre-opening screening, 1938 – Quando scoprimmo di non essere più italiani by Pietro Suber, will screen again on Sunday, October 21 at 4 pm, at Casa del Cinema.
October 18, at 7:30 pm, Sala Sinopoli (Auditorium Parco della Musica) will host the opening film of the Official Selection lineup, Bad Times at the El Royale. The sophomore film by Drew Goddard – who wrote Cloverfield and Oscar® nominee for The Martian, created the Netflix series Daredevil and directed The Cabin in the Woods – is a mystery thriller: seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past on the border between California and Nevada. Over the course of the fateful night they meet, each of them will have a last shot at redemption. The director and the film’s young star, Cailee Spaeny, will attend the premiere. Two reruns will screen the same evening, at 8 pm in the Sala Petrassi and at 9:30 pm in the Cinema Hall.
Two exhibitions will be unveiled at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. ”Three Minutes” by photographer Riccardo Ghilardi (Foyer Sala Sinopoli and Foyer Sala Petrassi) whose passionate eye guides us through a journey punctuated with the most well-known faces of cinema stars and catches them in those iconic locations that year after year showcase the dream factory of cinema: Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Los Angeles, home of the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, as well as Toronto, Rome, New York and many more.
The exhibition features fifty portraits Ghilardi shot during his career spent travelling to international film festivals as a portrait photographer for the international agency Contour by Getty Images. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with Rai Cinema, with the support of Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Once again, this year, as part of the project promoted by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers’ Department for Equal Opportunities aimed at preventing and halting violence against women, Rome Film Fest is devoting special attention to this issue. The exhibition “Riso Amaro” features a selection of works by illustrators, graphic artists and humourists from around the world. The title of the show is borrowed from the title of the 1949 film by Giuseppe De Santis which portrayed the harsh conditions of the women labouring in Italy’s rice paddies, with the main character being victim of a rape. The exhibition wields the arms of creativity and satire to tackle an issue of utmost importance and currently the subject of heated debate, in the belief that satire, in the form of graphic art, can play a key role in generating discussion and exposing abuse, representing a genuine manifesto that says, ”Violence against women: never again”. The exhibition organized by Associazione Culturale Festival Grafico, is curated by Julio Lubetkin, assisted by arts consultant Marilena Nardi, and will be held in the Cinema Village.
Among Other Events at Rome Film Fest, screenings get underway tomorrow at Cinema Trevi in downtown Rome. Until Sunday, October 21, a special showcase devoted to Italian actress Antonella Lualdi, ”Antonella Lualdi, diva con grazia” will feature three screenings: at 5 pm Abbiamo vinto! By Robert A. Stemmle; at 6:30 pm The Overcoat by Alberto Lattuada; and at 8:30 pm Chronicle of Poor Lovers by Carlo Lizzani.
