De Niro Partners With Rome Film Fest

Actor Robert De Niro, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni announced a partnership between the Tribeca and Rome film festivals at a news conference Thursday in New York.

As a part of the partnership, the Rome Film Festival will screen six films from the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, which took place in May. Six films from Rome's festival will be screened at Tribeca in 2007.

The first annual Rome Film Festival will take place Oct. 13-21.

During the Rome festival, De Niro will present a 20-minute preview of his new film, "The Good Shepherd," starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The movie tells the story of the birth of the CIA. He will also participate in a discussion about the making of the film after it is screened.

Mayor Veltroni also presented the Tribeca Film Festival with the Rome Film Festival's first "Steps and Stars Award," which recognizes individuals and cultural entities that have made a significant contribution to cinema.

"We are proud to be part of the inaugural Rome Film Fest and honored that the Tribeca Film Festival is receiving the first annual Steps and Stars Award," De Niro said. "I look forward to a long-term creative relationship between Rome and Tribeca."

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in response to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Rosenthal and Hatkoff were also present at the conference.

"The War Tapes," a film directed by Deborah Scranton that won the Best Documentary Film at the Tribeca festival, is one of the six films that will be screened in Rome. "Akeelah and the Bee," starring Laurence Fishburne, will also be shown.