MUMBAI: Brushing aside comments from Minister of Culture Lorenzo Ornaghi criticising the Rome festival authorities for pushing its dates within a week of that of the Turin Film Festival, the Rome Film Festival President Paolo Ferrari has sent the minister an explanation behind the festival‘s motives behind the move.

The seven-year-old event, now scheduled to take place from 9 to 17 November has angered the organizers of the Turin Film Festival that will be held between 23 November and 1 December. The short break between the two events is expected to drain media and sponsor interest away from Turin, feel the Turin fest organizers.

It may noted that on Monday last, Ornaghi had blasted Rome fest for acting "obstinately" saying that its decision to move its dates was "against the overall interests of Italian cinema."A day later, Ferrari explained that Rome offered to give Turin space to promote its line-up during the Rome festival.
 
FThe Rome fest president also scoffed at the idea that the short break between Rome‘s close and Turin‘s open was necessarily problematic for the second festival, pointing to the short three-day break between the Montreal Film Festival in Canada thay will conclude this year on 3 September and the Toronto Film Festival that starts just three days later.