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ROME -- The distribution wing of Italian state broadcaster RAI said it had a banner year at the 59th Festival de Cannes, penning deals with 16 national distributors for two films, with two other projects in production garnering attention from distribution firms. RAI Trade reported Monday that the film Fuoco su di Me (Fire at My Hearth) from Lamberto Lambertini was gobbled up by Swen in Brazil, Front Row in the Middle East, J-Bics in Thailand, Russia's Soyuz, France's Acadra, Czech TV in the Czech Republic, TVR in Romania and BNT in Bulgaria. Pupi Avati's film Seconda Notte di Nozze (Second Wedding Night) attracted nearly as many buyers: Sagrera from Spain, Russia's Ruscico, STV in Slovakia and TV Polska in Poland. Cinemas Nueva Era in Mexico and Australia's Palace bought rights to both films.

The ninth Shanghai International Film Festival will have an unusually Italian feel this year, with about a dozen Italian films showing at the June 17-25 event, the director of Filmitalia said. The official lineup has yet to be announced, but indications are that the lineup will include 29-year-old Giacomo Martelli's second film, In Ascolto (The Listening); Tu Devi Essere il Lupo (You Must Be the Wolf), from Vittorio Moroni; and La Seconda Notte di Nozze (The Second Wedding Night), a film written and directed by Pupi Avati. Included in the lineup are seven films that will make up a special Focus Italy part of the festival.

The ninth Shanghai International Film Festival will have an unusually Italian feel this year, with about a dozen Italian films showing at the June 17-25 event, the director of Filmitalia said. The official lineup has yet to be announced, but indications are that the lineup will include 29-year-old Giacomo Martelli's second film, In Ascolto (The Listening); Tu Devi Essere il Lupo (You Must Be the Wolf), from Vittorio Moroni; and La Seconda Notte di Nozze (The Second Wedding Night), a film written and directed by Pupi Avati. Included in the lineup are seven films that will make up a special Focus Italy part of the festival.

VENICE, Italy -- Italian independent producer Domenico Procacci took aim at Venice International Film Festival artistic director Marco Muller for ignoring his mandate to discover first-time directors in his selection process. Procacci, in town with first-time helmer Fausto Paravidino's Texas, which is screening in the Venice Horizons section, openly questioned at a news conference why his film was not selected to compete for the Golden Lion. "For Muller, in fact, as he declared to the press, the festival should photograph the present and doesn't have to discover new talent. I do not share this view," said Procacci, who noted that the three Italian films in competition -- Roberto Faenza's I Giorni dell'Abbandono, Cristina Comencini's La Bestia Nel Cuore and Pupi Avati's La Seconda Notte di Nozze -- are all from established directors.

VENICE -- James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro and the Coen Brothers waltzed their way onto the Lido Tuesday for the premiere of the bawdy musical Romance & Cigarettes. Director Turturro's movie was the second U.S. title to unspool here in competition. One of the largest entourages to arrive yet provided ample opportunity for a packed news conference to quiz the filmmaker and stars. But the event was largely dominated by questions fired to Sarandon about her views on Hollywood and politics. Sarandon joshed that the only way to end your career in Hollywood was to get "old and fat." She said Hollywood wasn't really a "political entity that is going to evolve in some way." She also said that it was a pity that men got paid more than women to be in movies but added that many of the roles did not appeal to her. The movie script, described by producers Joel and Ethan Coen as "sufficiently demented" to bring them on board, trades in foulmouthed dialogue and lewd sexual references. "Dirty language of a certain kind is a certain art and everything can't be sweet," said Turturro, who penned the project in addition to directing it. "We made a list of interesting expressions and as long as it is humorous it is fun." Prior to the news conference, a war of words broke out between Venice festival organizers and a major Italian newswire service. Organizers said Italy's second-largest wire service, Adnkronos, had misrepresented the tone and content of festival coverage from outlets including The Hollywood Reporter. Adnkronos ran an article -- picked up by the Venice daily Il Gazzettino -- which said that U.S. press coverage had slammed the festival organization and the movies so far. But organizers fired back at the wire service, saying in a press statement that the "tone and comments" of coverage "were in fact positive." As the war of words broke out, Venice entered the home stretch and Italian entries pushed to the fore. Tuesday saw the first Italian movie unspool in competition as Roberto Faenza's I Giorni dell'Abbandono hit the screen. Both Cristina Comencini's La Bestia Nel Cuore and Pupi Avati's La Seconda Notte di Nozze also will vie for the jury's attention as Saturday's awards ceremony approaches.