Today is the last official day of the second Rome Film Festival. Although tonight sees the premiere of L’abbuffata from Mimmo Calopresti, and there is also a special feature on Fidel Castro showing this afternoon, for all intents and purposes the main content of the festival is over. The statistics have been totaled, the judges have made their decisions, and the prizes have been awarded. This afternoon the equivalent of the fat lady sang at the awards ceremony in the form of the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia conducted by maestro Ennio Morricone.

The general feeling at the end of the day seems to be mixed. Certain sections of the festival, namely Extras and Alice in the City, have been very successful, showing a wide range of films that have caught people’s imaginations. Two of my personal favorites, Zero and In Prison My Whole Life, were part of Extra. The enthusiasm of the children at the festival and the quality of the cinema aimed at young people has been encouraging.

The Business Street also seems to have done well, and may be expanding next year. Its director Giorgio Gosetti said it showed the festival it could “bring together both audiences and business.” They are hoping to develop the business element to promote the “value of intelligence and creativity” in the world of cinema.

However, the overall impression has been something bordering on disillusionment. Although the statistics show an increase from last year, with the number of visitors to the festival totaling 600,000, up 120,ooo from last year, and the total number of tickets at 110,000, the organizer’s promise that they put more emphasis on quality than celebrity when choosing the films doesn’t ring true.

After accusations last year that the festival was too obsessed with stars, Piera Detassis, director of the Premieres section, commented at the final press meeting that this year the organizers had tried to “strike the right balance…between glamour and the red carpet on one hand and quality on the other.” I don’t know if it’s my personal dislike of the mindless cult of celebrity, or maybe I’m just too picky, but I must have missed the quality bit as, with a few exceptions, the big-budget films in the festival have been the most disappointing.

There were also questions about the festival’s “public” judging panel and their methods after it was noted that, unlike Venice or Berlin, the judges at Rome went with what was seen as the critic’s choice for best film, Juno.

Leader of the jury, Danis Tanovic, commented that he thought it “worked beautifully” and that he told the other members, “Don’t try to turn into film critics - use your heart, use your eyes.” He also added he had not voted on the best film because he saw his role as the “first among equals” and he “did not want to influence the decision.”

All in all, I have enjoyed being here. It has definitely given me a taste for documentaries that I didn’t have before. The films that dared to push the boundaries have been exceptional and seeing the likes of Coppola and Cate Blanchet in the flesh was a treat. But it also served to illustrate how many bad films there are and how important it is to develop new and innovative approaches. I hope that over time the festival will inspire the whole “city to embrace the world of cinema” and foster a new generation of writers and directors that will bring Italian cinema back to Rome.