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The first ever Rome Film Festival is due to be launched next month, promising to appeal to ordinary cinemagoers instead of the movie industry.

The nine-day event will have five sections including a competition for emerging filmmakers, premieres of the latest films, exhibitions, book presentations and documentaries.

It will be based primarily in the city's new Auditorium concert hall, although screenings and other events will also take place in venues throughout the historic city.

Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni has been keen to boost the city's profile as a centre for film-making following the filming of smash hit movies Mission: Impossible 3 and Ocean's Twelve, as well as the popular TV series Rome, in the Italian capital.

Unlike its national rival in Venice, the Rome Film Festival will involve a jury of ordinary filmgoers and will take a more popular approach to film and filmmaking.

'Venice focuses on an excellent selection of films. Instead, here we'll be presenting lots of good movies but above all, we want to give the public an all-round, broad cinema experience including shows, books and music,' organisers told the Italian news agency ANSA.

Nicole Kidman is to be opening the inaugural Rome Film Festival on October 13th with the world premiere of her film Fur and Sir Sean Connery will be picking up a lifetime achievement award.


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