Saturday October 14, 2006
Inaugural Rome Film Festival opens with world premiere of 'Fur,' starring Nicole Kidman
ROME (AP): Nicole Kidman premiered her movie "Fur'' _ based loosely on the life of photographer Diane Arbus _ at the inaugural Rome Film Festival, which opened Friday.
"I wanted to support this festival and Italy,'' Kidman told a news conference. "Film festivals are very good for small films like this one, the more we have the better.''
The film by director Steven Shainberg tells the story of the transformation of a shy 1950s housewife into an artist, a move triggered by a passionate love affair with Lionel, her mysterious mentor played by Robert Downey Jr.
"It's a small, small portrait. In fact it's called an imaginary portrait. What counts is the creativity of the artist, what's inside,'' Kidman said. "My way of trying to play her was more trying to capture her inner self.''
The festival will bring a handful of Hollywood stars to the Italian capital, including Sean Connery, who received a career achievement award in Rome on Thursday night, Leonardo DiCaprio and Richard Gere.
"Fur,'' which combines biography and fictional romance, is shown out of competition along with other premieres, such as "Alatriste,'' a movie about a soldier living in 17th-century Spain starring Viggo Mortensen; "The Hoax,'' starring Gere; and Mira Nair's "The Namesake,'' about an Indian family moving to New York City.
Italian diva Monica Bellucci appears in two films also out of competition: "N (Io e Napoleone)'' or "N (Napoleon and I)'' and "Le Concile De Pierre'' or "The Stone Council.''
Among the 16 movies competing for the Best Movie Award are Iranian Niki Karimi's "Chand rooz ba'd...'' ("A few days later...'') and Shane Meadows' "This is England.''
The Rome event, which has fueled speculation of rivalry with the Venice Film Festival, runs through Oct. 21. It is mainly held at the city's Auditorium, an exhibition and concert center designed by architect Renzo Piano.
"It's difficult to believe that this is the first time you have an international film festival here in Rome,'' Connery said, telling fans and reporters he was "thrilled.''
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