Legendary Jewish filmmaker Woody Allen will open the 29th Jerusalem Film Festival on July 5 with his new film “To Rome With Love.” Allen has had a career rejuvenation in the last few years with a series of films set in Europe, rather than New York, where his earlier celebrated movies had been set.
“To Rome With Love” stars Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, and Penelope Cruz, and is the first film to feature Allen in an acting role since his 2006 effort “Scoop.”
The film is a series of four vignettes which all take place in the Italian capital, and Allen’s role will be as a retired director who is attempting to publicize the opera singing career of a man who sings well only when in the shower.
Allen’s last effort, “Midnight in Paris,” won him an Academy Award for Best Screenplay was nominated for Best Picture as well. The Jerusalem Film Festival began in 1984. At least year’s festival, over 200 films were screened over the course of the event.