FESTA DEL CINEMA DI ROMA | ROME FILM FEST 12th edition | October 26 – November 5, 2017 PRESS CONFERENCE October 10, 2017 12 pm – Sala Petrassi Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome PRESS KIT CONTENT o The Minister for the Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, Dario Franceschini o The Mayor of Roma Capitale, Virginia Raggi o The Governor of the Lazio Region, Nicola Zingaretti o The President of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Handicrafts, and Agriculture, Lorenzo Tagliavanti o The President of the Fondazione Musica per Roma, Aurelio Regina, and CEO of the Fondazione Musica per Roma, José R. Dosal o The President of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, Piera Detassis o The General Director of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, Francesca Via o The Artistic Director of the Rome Film Fest, Antonio Monda th o The 12 Rome Film Fest o The Official Selection | In collaboration with Alice nella città o Everybody’s talking about it o Special Events o Close Encounters o “Pre-opening” screenings – October with the Rome Film Fest o “The Italian School” Retrospective o Film Restorations and Tributes o Reflections o Films of our Lives o Other events of the Fest o Rome UNESCO City of Film o Alice nella città – the lineup o General Information o How to attend the Rome Film Fest – Tickets, advance sales, prices, accreditations o How to get here o Guide to the venues o Venues and services for the press Sede Operativa: via degli Scialoja 3, 00196 Roma | Sede legale V. le Pietro De Coubertin, 10 00196 Roma | ph. +39 06 40401900 | [email protected] | www.romacinemafest.org MINISTER FOR THE CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ACTIVITIES AND TOURISM DARIO FRANCESCHINI The Rome Film Fest is going into its twelfth year, a crucial year for the film and audio-visual industry, which has seen the decrees issued that will implement the new film law approved in late 2016. Anticipation has been running high for the new film law, which overhauls the government’s commitment to supporting Italian film, with a 60% increase in available funding through an annual allocation of a minimum of 400 million euros to a separate fund. The law establishes strong incentives for young filmmakers and exhibitors who modernize their theatres or build new ones; it makes it mandatory to include more films in television programming and increases investments by television channels in film productions. Italian cinema is regaining an international dimension, and the new film law is ideally placed to sustain its growth within and beyond Italy’s borders. In the midst of these changes, the Rome Film Fest arrives with all the energy of a city-wide event that gets movie theatres and film clubs across Rome involved in an eleven-day celebration of cinema in all its guises: experimental films, blockbusters, animation, virtual reality, and more. Romans of all stripes will flock to the Fest, an event that turns Rome into even more of a genuine film capital and is a tribute to the passion, commitment and professionalism of all those who brought the Rome Film Fest into being and continue to make it grow. (catalogue) Sede Operativa: via degli Scialoja 3, 00196 Roma | Sede legale V. le Pietro De Coubertin, 10 00196 Roma | ph. +39 06 40401900 | [email protected] | www.romacinemafest.org THE MAYOR OF ROMA CAPITALE VIRGINIA RAGGI Culture and the arts: these are certainly the areas in which Rome really shines and reveals its true calling as a city full of enthusiasm and a wellspring of emotions. And this spirit – with its passion and energy – has always informed the Rome Film Fest, which stands as our tribute to the city’s rich film tradition. Rome’s love for cinema comes through in the way the city has always offered up its locations, history and unique personality to magnificent films treasured by audiences the world over, starring legendary actors who have gone down in Italian film history – and the world’s. And it is precisely through the Rome Film Fest that this city continues to showcase the unbreakable bond that it has cultivated with one of the most fascinating and stirring of the arts – that same bond that is now expressed through a creativity of the highest order, turning the Rome Film Fest into a prestigious cultural event for film lovers around the world and for the international film professionals who are keen to attend. There is even more to the Rome Film Fest, however. It is also a marvellous occasion for creating a sense of communion, with the whole city involved in a popular celebration in which everyone can let the sounds, the lights and the words swirl around them in a kaleidoscope of emotions that touches one and all to the core. The Rome Film Fest is a chance for ideas to circulate and for people with the same passion to come together. After all, this is one of the strengths of cinema: it helps build community, and that is a principle we believe in and are fully committed to. At this point a dedication is in order: we dedicate this superb new edition of the Rome Film Fest to everyone who loves film as much as we do. We know that the world-famous actors and directors who will be on hand will treat audiences to memorable moments when they take the Auditorium stage. We are delighted the whole city is getting into the act, and so many young people. Rome has always been a Celluloid City, and it is entirely right to support this role to cement the bonds between our capital and the arts. (catalogue) Sede Operativa: via degli Scialoja 3, 00196 Roma | Sede legale V. le Pietro De Coubertin, 10 00196 Roma | ph. +39 06 40401900 | [email protected] | www.romacinemafest.org PRESIDENT OF THE REGIONE LAZIO NICOLA ZINGARETTI This year, we are bringing a growing trend to the Rome Film Fest, and we are proud that the Lazio Region is a more and more favourable terrain for the audio-visual industry. In Rome and all of Lazio audiences are increasing and so are film productions; investments are pouring in and so are high- calibre directors. We are delighted to contribute to these fine achievements, providing the film and audio-visual industry with concrete support in all phases: location scouting, production, support for festivals and other showcases, and funding to modernize our movie theatres and make them more appealing. The Lazio Region’s policy is wide-ranging, and we do more every year to promote a key segment of Italy’s culture and economy. I consider the Lazio Region’s participation in the Rome Film Fest a decisive element in our broader policy to support the industry, and it surely behoves us to back this marvellous cultural opportunity for the city of Rome. During the event, we have the opportunity to discover several good films, see actors and directors up close, relish other gazes on our world, and together we have the chance to show off Rome and Lazio’s strength in a vital sector to an international audience: offering up a concentration of businesses, ideas, talent and a host of concrete measures to help our film industry grow bigger and better. (catalogue) Sede Operativa: via degli Scialoja 3, 00196 Roma | Sede legale V. le Pietro De Coubertin, 10 00196 Roma | ph. +39 06 40401900 | [email protected] | www.romacinemafest.org PRESIDENT OF THE ROME CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY, HANDICRAFTS, AND AGRICULTURE LORENZO TAGLIAVANTI From October 26 to November 5, the Rome Film Fest is back in town: a tribute to the finest in film that stars the festivalgoers and the Italian capital itself in a major event featuring a plethora of initiatives that unfurl not only at the Auditorium but across the city. The Eternal City, where the first Italian production company, CINES, was founded back in 1905, is the perfect place for this celebration. Our territory can boast a long tradition of artisans in the film industry of which the whole world is aware, thanks to the talent of our set and costume designers, Oscar®-winners many times over, and it is home to a network of small film-related businesses employing tens of thousands. The Italian cinema is undergoing something of a renaissance and has upped its own share of the market over the past year – a development that goes hand in hand with a rekindled interest on the part of international productions to film in and around Rome. It is no coincidence that in recent years the Rome Film Fest has proven to be a prestigious showcase for new Italian films, as well as an invaluable networking opportunity for film professionals, representing another undeniable impetus for our national film industry thanks to the participation of leading Italian and international industry personalities. The significant achievements of this event, in terms of the positive spin-off on the economy of both the city and the country at large, only confirm that the Rome Chamber of Commerce, the city’s premier economic institution, was right to support the fest, starting in its very first year. The Chamber of Commerce’s policy, aimed at creating fertile terrain in Rome for a vibrant cultural and creative scene, is reflected in its participation in and support of the city’s other major cultural foundations as well: besides Cinema per Roma, also Musica per Roma and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. The recent reform of Italy’s Chambers of Commerce has entrusted the network of these institutions with the task of promoting their cities’ cultural heritage by joining forces with other cultural players, while at the same time implementing the rationalization of available resources.