The historic streets of the centre of Rome will celebrate their cinematic pedigree when the capital's glamorous, new film festival kicks off Friday .
A series of special exhibitions are to be staged on the streets with the aim of re-evoking Rome's illustrious filmmaking past in parts of the city that have been sets for memorable movies .
"Some of Rome's historic streets have made a mark on the collective consciousness of cinema in Italy and around the world," said Goffredo Bettini, the director of the Rome Film Fest .
"Only Rome has these treasures. So it was right for the festival to pay tribute to these splendid sites". Pride of place is going to Via Veneto, the backdrop for sections of Federico Fellini's masterpiece, La Dolce Vita .
Along the street the sets of movies like Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time in America and Fellini's Amarcord will be recreated inside transparent showcases. Via Veneto's hotels will play host to "Dressing Dream", an exhibition of film costumes worn by divas like Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner and Audrey Hepburn .
Among the highlights is one the dresses Hepburn wore in War and Peace (1956). An exhibition of shots of actresses like Sophia Loren and Anita Ekberg taken by Rino Barillari, the "king of the paparazzi", will be held in the area of Via Condotti-Spanish Steps. This part of town features prominently in 1953 classic Roman Holiday, starring Hepburn and Gregory Peck, among other movies. Another street in the same area, Via Borgognona, plays host to a show on legendary Neorealist director Luchino Visconti. French stylist Jean-Paul Gaultier is also doing his bit to take the festival to Rome's streets .
He is turning one of the city's trams into a Beauty Shuttle, where people will be able to try his scents and get beauty advice from professional movie make-up artists. The debut edition of Rome's first major international film festival runs October 13-21 .
The winning films will be chosen by a jury of 50 ordinary cinema goers who have been picked from hundreds of applicants .
But the competition almost risks taking a back seat to the numerous film premieres, screenings, exhibitions, book presentations and other events that have been planned to fill out the programme .
Nicole Kidman has been signed up to open the event with the world premiere of her film Fur based on the life of photographer Diane Arbus and directed by Steven Shainberg .
Another screen beauty, Italy's Monica Bellucci, will be present for the premiere of N: Napoleon and Me, by Paolo Virzi, which is set on the island of Elba during Napoleon's exile .
Other major premieres include Martin Scorsese's The Departed, a remake of a Hong Kong crime thriller with Jack Nicholson, Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon; the noirish La Sconosciuta (The Stranger) by Italian Oscar-winner Giuseppe Tornatore; and The Namesake, a tale of immigration by internationally feted Indian director Mira Nair .
Sean Connery will receive the festival's first career achievement award and Harrison Ford and Harvey Keitel will add to the star appeal .
(photo: Nicole Kidman slipping into her Rome hotel)
