Fond. Cinema Roma - Intro

The Fondazione Cinema per Roma- established on February 13th,  2007 through the initiative of the City of Rome, Lazio Region, Province of Rome, Rome Chamber of Commerce and Fondazione Musica per Roma – is the institution that organizes the International Rome Film Festival, now celebrating its 6th edition (October 27 – November 4 2011).

From 2006 to 2010, the event – which takes place in the Auditorium Parco della Musica and other areas around Rome, such as the renowned Via Veneto, focal point of the “Dolce Vita” – has  hosted great international premieres,  world class actors and directors of the caliber of Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, encounters with the public, documentaries, retrospectives, exhibits, concerts and live shows. Through its Business Street, the Festival brings together industry professionals, encourages the sale and distribution of audiovisual products and promotes independent cinema production.

In 2009, the Festival welcomed 600,000 attendees and issued 100,000 tickets. According to a survey conducted by Fondazione Rosselli, in collaboration with Spazi Comuni, the economic spin-off of the Festival amounts to 220 million euros, increasing by 38-fold the investment by public institutions.

In addition, the Fondazione Cinema per Roma brings to its public a number of  events and appointments that run throughout the year:

•  “Viaggio nel Cinema Americano” (Journey through American Cinema), where international actors and filmmakers interact directly with the public. Past guests have included, Tim Burton, John Turturro, Todd Solondz, James Ivory, Spike Lee, Sydney Pollack, Arthur Penn, Joel and Ethan Coen, Frances McDormand, Jane Fonda, David Lynch, Sidney Lumet, Jonathan Demme, Milos Forman, Jim Jarmusch, Micheal Cimino, Terry Gilliam, Ethan Hawke, Susan Sarandon, Paul Schrader, Wes Anderson.

•  “ Aspettando il Festival” (Countdown to the Festival), a series of talks between Italian school children and and their big screen heroes. Outstanding among these mentors: Jodie Foster, Giovanni Veronesi, Sergio Castellitto, Valeria Solarino, Claudia Gerini, Luisa Ranieri, Riccardo Scamarcio, Claudio Santamaria, Carolina Crescentini, Valerio Mastandrea, Nicolas Vaporidis, Luca Argentero, Valeria Golino, Isabella Ragonese and Michele Riondino.

• Preview screenings of past  Rome Film Festival entries about to be released in Italian theatres. The screening is usually followed by encounters with the director or one of the stars. This year the Fondazione Cinema per Roma hosted - at the all’Auditorium Parco della Musica and at Casa del Cinema di Roma – the public screenings of Kill Me Please, Burke & Hare, L’uomo che verrà (The Man Who Will Come), Il Concerto (The Concert), Brotherhood  and Simon Konianski, as well as table talks with the respective filmmakers (Olias Barco, John Landis, Giorgio Diritti, Radu Mihaileanu, Nicolo Donato and Micha Wald).  

• In 2009 - 2010, the  “Emanuele Luzzati. Fantasie”  festival, dedicated to the famous entertainer, painter, illustrator and set designer from Genova. This was set up at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.

• “ I mestieri del cinema” (Cinema crafts and trades), a series of  encounters, in collaboration with the universities, open to the public and free of charge, to get a behind-the-scenes look into the filmmaking process with the technicians and craftspeople who make it all happen. Special guests this year: cinematographer Giuseppe Lanci, producer Mario Gianani, set designer Paola Bizzarri and sound technician Filippo Porcari. 

The estimated Fondazione Cinema per Roma budget for 2010 is around 13.5 million euros, 70 per cent of which comes from private funding.