The third annual Rome International Film Festival will bring the best of new, independent films from around the globe to Rome, Ga. Screenings will take place September 7-10, 2006, in historic downtown Rome. Venues include the DeSoto Theatre, the first talkie movie theater built in the South, the Rome City Auditorium, and the Forum Civic Center. The festival will include 140 films representing 35 countries and 41 world premieres. Films are shown in the categories of features, documentaries, shorts, animation, experimental, and horror. Presenting sponsors for the festival are Georgia Power and State Mutual Insurance Company.

The festival will begin on Thursday, September 7, with the Opening Night Film, Our Very Own, and the Opening Night Gala. Our Very Own is a coming-of-age story set in 1978 in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Directed by Cameron Watson, the film will screen at 7:00 p.m. in the Rome City Auditorium, 601 Broad Street. Our Very Own stars Keith Carradine, Allison Janney, Cheryl Hines, Faith Prince, Mary Badham, Jason Ritter, Autumn Reeser, Hillary Burton, and Derek Carter. The Opening Night Gala, following Our Very Own, will be in the Forrest Place Ballroom at the corner of Broad Street and Fifth Avenue. Patrons will have the opportunity to meet the director and several cast members of Our Very Own at the gala.

The Closing Night Film will be To Kill a Mockingbird, with special guest Mary Badham, who played Scout in the original film. The film will begin at 6:30 p.m., on Saturday, September 9, at the DeSoto Theatre, 530 Broad Street. The To Kill a Mockingbird screening will be followed by an extensive Q & A with Mary Badham.

Films will screen all day and night on Friday and Saturday, beginning from 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. Films will also screen at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. The festival will conclude with the Awards Ceremony on Sunday afternoon, September 10, at 3:00 p.m., at the DeSoto Theatre, followed by screenings of several of the award-winning films.

Admission to the festival is $5 for matinee shows and $7.50 for evening shows. Single and multiple-day packages are available, ranging from $25-$125. RIFF Patron tickets are also available for $200. For more information call 706-295-2787 or visit the festival website at http://www.riff.tv/ .