Rome Film Festival to honour Bill Murray

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Los Angeles: Veteran actor Bill Murray is set to receive the 2019 Rome Film Festival's lifetime achievement award. 

Acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson will present Murray with the honour, and also host a "Close Encounter" discussion with the star, reported Variety.

The organisers of the event, which runs from October 17 to 27, also announced that its Official Selection will include "Pavarotti" by Ron Howard, who will present the film. The lineup will feature around 40 films that will compete for the BNL People's Choice Award.

French filmmakers Olivier Assayas and Bertrand Tavernier and American writer Bret Easton Ellis are also confirmed to partake in "Close Encounter" discussions at the upcoming festival.

There also will be a tribute to Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo, one century after his birth. Rome will present a restored version of "Kapo", Pontecorvo's 1960 film about a young Jewish girl who leads an escape attempt from a concentration camp.