'Chinese Takeaway' wins Rome's top prize

ROME - Argentine hit comedy "Chinese Takeaway," by Sebastian Borensztein, was the big winner at the sixth Rome Film Festival, which wrapped on a positive note Friday despite a bit of bickering earlier. Distributed by Disney in Argentina, where it's been a smash, this quirky laffer starring Ricardo Darin ("The Secret in Their Eyes") as a Buenos Aires shopkeeper who helps out a Chinese immigrant, scooped both Rome's nod for best film and the big metropolitan fest's audience award. "Takeaway," which has been sold widely by Madrid-based Latido Films, will go out in Italy via Archibald. The jury, headed by Ennio Morricone and comprising Debra Winger and Susanne Bier, gave its grand jury award to Gallic helmer Claude Miller's "Watch While They Dance," starring Italy's Maya Sansa, while the special jury nod went to Fred Schepisi's "The Eye of the Storm." The actress nod went to Noomi Rapace for her role as a mom trying to protect her son from an allegedly abusive father in psychological thriller "Babycall," by Norwegian helmer Pal Seltaune. Gallic thesp Guillaume Canet scooped the actor prize for his role as a cook with credit issues in Cedric Kahn's "A Better Life." The nod for original score went to German composer Ralf Wengenmayr for Communism spoof "Hotel Lux," by helmer Leander Haussman. "Girl Model," by U.S. helmers David Redmon and Ashley Sabin, in which U.S, and Russian model scouts trawl remote Siberian villages for young girls suitable for modelling jobs in Japan, took top docu nod in Rome's Extra Section. Iranian gay-themed drama "Circumstance" by Maryam Keshavarz and tyro Gallic helmer Emmanuelle Millet's teen drama "Twiggy" tied for Rome fest's emerging new talent prize. Rome's Alice in the City section dedicated to kiddie fare saw "En el nombre de la hija," a humor-laced family-drama set in the 1970s from Ecuador's Tania Hermida, take the under-13 prize, while Belgian helmer Bavo Defune's gay coming-of-ager "Noordzee Texas" won in the over-13 category. Attendance was up more than 4% this year, with 123,000 tickets sold at the Eternal City extravaganza. Event drew fire from Italo culture czar Giancarlo Galan who reiterated that he views it as antagonistic to Venice, which however is not considered that much of a threat. Meanwhile, Rome's Business Street mart next year will be moving to slick digs in Rome's Maxxi contempo art museum, upping its profile as a small but significant European industry event. Contact Nick Vivarelli at nvivarelli@gmail.com