The people's film festival

Venice is a bit peeved, but Rome's film festival is here to stay. After three years of trial run, the festival is set to become a permanent fixture on the calendar and what better location than the Eternal City for an international feast of film, a city stamped by the lives of its own film heroes.

The Galleria Alberto Sordi is an art nouveau shopping arcade named after the famous Italian actor, the voice of Oliver Hardy in the Laurel and Hardy films amongst many, many other roles. Sordi was awarded five David di Donatellos, Italy's most prestigious film award, and a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement as well as the Golden Globe for his role in To Bed or Not to Bed.

He acted alongside America's Bette Davis and Britain's David Niven. He worked under the hand of Fellini and De Sica. He acted in 150 films, wrote almost 50 and directed 19 and approximately 250,000 people are said to have filled Rome's cathedral for his funeral.
Sordi was Roman and the recent inauguration of the Galleria in his name is a tribute to his enormous cultural influence on the city. The Galleria Alberto Sordi, built in 1914 on the historic street running through Rome's centre, Via Corso, is an ongoing cultural icon. Located around the corner from the seat of political power, on the site where the city switched from gas to electric light in 1885, the Galleria hosts events, concerts and exhibitions alongside a chic register of shops to be found inside.
From magnificent arcades to underground horrors, a different take on Rome's filmography is that of Dario Argento and his long-standing career as writer and director of horror films. Profondo Rosso, a shop named deep red, collects the knickknacks of Argento's thriller films while underneath the cellar houses mannequin film scenes.
If these two examples of film greats are not enough, Fellini's Rome is pervasive.

With Fellini's neorealist or surrealist touch, the comic takes of Sordi, or the slasher style of Argento, Rome is cultural vogue. A city full of people's creative talent from all walks of life and in keeping with Rome's close connection to its people, its festival has come up with its own judging formula. Instead of a panel of film professionals, Rome's festival jury consists of 50 of your regular hoi polloi. Nicole Kidman and Al Pacino may be guest stars but judgment is awarded by an unknown celebrity - the people.