Originally Published: 2007-07-22

Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett will open the next Rome international film festival by presenting her follow-up portrayal of Elizabeth I. The Rome Film Fest kicks off in October with a premiere of The Golden Age in which Blanchett stars as the legendary Tudor queen she first played in the 1998 British movie Elizabeth. The Golden Age, like the multi-award-winning Elizabeth, is directed by Indian-born filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.
It picks up events 15 years on from the first film, covering Elizabeth’s rivalry with Mary Queen of Scots and the threat of the Spanish Armada, as well as The Virgin Queen’s relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh, played by Clive Owen. Geoffrey Rush returns as the spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham.
Blanchett picked up numerous awards and an Oscar nomination for her role in the first movie. The Golden Age will not, however, be screened in the competitive section of the Rome Film Fest, which is now in its second year.
Rome Film Fest President Goffredo Bettini said, “We are working on the new edition which will have a rich line-up of stars, films and events. The Golden Age premiere confirms the festival’s importance in the world cinema landscape.”
Coming a month after the Venice festival, the Rome fest has been accused of stealing some of the lagoon city’s thunder. Last year, the closeness of the dates inevitably spawned rivalry between the two festivals and some tensions. The first edition of the Rome fest was inaugurated by Blanchett’s fellow Australian Nicole Kidman with a premiere of her Diane Arbus bio Fur.

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Roman Polanski and Danny De Vito were among the big attractions at the world’s first and foremost children’s cinema festival. The 37th Giffoni Film Festival kicked off with the Italian premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
But the real stars were the kids who will bring the 11-day show to life. These included 2,000 child jury members from 30 different countries, including Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Mexico, the USA and Belarus, who picked the prize winners.

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