Rome kicks off its first film festival today

Despite demure denials by the organisers, the event is seen as a potentially serious rival to the venerable Mostra of Venice.

Kidman will be on hand to unveil "Fur, An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," a film expected to make waves with its departure from biographical fact and the sheer originality of director Steven Shainberg's approach to the life of the controversial photographer of freaks.

To run from today until October 21, the RomeFilmFest will also feature appearances by Monica Bellucci, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Sean Connery and Luc Besson.

Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, the festival's mastermind, said he wants it to be "a great popular fete entirely dedicated to the cinematic art."

The ardent cinephile has rejected any talk of a rivalry between the RomeFilmFest and the decades-old Mostra, saying the two cities and their respective festivals "help each other with reciprocal love and respect."

The Rome program is in fact less flamboyant than the Mostra, but it enjoys a much larger budget -- by several million euros (dollars) -- thanks to private donations.

Many big stars jumped at the invitation to attend.