Venice and Rome as film festival rivals

"Italy itself has just slipped a mine beneath the fragile feet of the venerable Mostra. The latter was already having to battle against all sorts of competition. This time it finds itself facing an unexpected rival on its own turf," writes Thierry Jobin. "The Mostra has already had all the difficulty in the world maintaining, in a Berlusconian context, its 10 million euro budget of which a quarter is now derived from private sources. Rome, meanwhile, struts its stuff. Right from it's first year, the RomaCinemaFest has disposed of financing, essentially private, almost equivalent to that of Venice. Above all, it will circulate in a brand new auditorium built by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. In these conditions, the idea of this new festival, launched by the left-wing mayor Walter Veltroni to spruce up his capital, appears as a strike of genius. One which is mobilising all Italian cinema, while Mostra pales in comparison."

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Italy
All available articles from » Thierry Jobin

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, August 30, 2006