Julianne Moore to be honored at Rome film fest; Knightley, Mendes expected on the red carpet

Rome film fest to honor Julianne Moore

ROME — Julianne Moore will receive an acting award at the Rome Film Festival opening this month, organizers said Thursday, while Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes and Aaron Eckhart will walk the red carpet to present their new movies.

Also attending the Oct. 28-Nov.5 festival are John Landis, director of “The Blues Brothers,” with his new film “Burke and Hare”; Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan; and French diva Fanny Ardant with a short film on the Roma community — a hot topic in her home country, which has been expelling Gypsies.

Knightley and Mendes will kick off the festival with “Last Night,” a marital drama also starring “Avatar” leading man Sam Worthington, who is not expected in Rome. Eckhart will promote “Rabbit Hole,” which also stars Nicole Kidman, about a couple grieving over the death of their son.

Both movies are among the 16 films competing for the top prize. Also in competition is “Oranges and Sunshine,” the first feature film by Jim Loach, English director Ken Loach’s son, and starring Emily Watson and Hugo Weaving, of “The Matrix” and “Lord of the Rings.”

Moore is presenting “The Kids Are All Right,” a family comic drama in which she stars opposite Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo. Rome Film Festival artistic director Piera Detassis said the American actress is being awarded for her ability to represent both mainstream Hollywood and indie movies.

The festival will also mark the 100th anniversary of Akira Kurosawa’s birth with a screening of “Rashomon” and the 50th anniversary of “La Dolce Vita” with the presentation of the restored version of Federico Fellini’s classic.

Now at its fifth edition, the Rome fest is seeking to establish itself in the busy international circuit of movie festivals.