Rome Film Festival to play 'The Irishman' as centrepiece screening

The ace filmmaker Martin Scorsese's highly-anticipated film 'The Irishman' is set to be the centrepiece screening of the 2019 Rome Film Festival.

The festival director Antonio Monda expressed the pleasure over the "participation of 'The Irishman' as the centrepiece at the Rome Film Fest."

"The participation of The Irishman as the centrepiece at the Rome Film Fest is a great honour for me and for everyone working at the Fest," Antonio Monda, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

"The Irishman is the most highly anticipated film of the year and boasts an exceptional cast: The decision to present it in Rome is yet another acknowledgement of how the fest has grown over the years," said RFF director Monda.

The flick chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and also explores the hidden corridors of organised crime and its connections to mainstream politics.

'The Irishman' tells the story of a mob hitman (De Niro) whose life becomes entwined with the rise and fall of Hoffa (Pacino).

The flick will have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival before featuring at the London Film Festival and then Rome and hit select theatres in the US on November 1 before airing on Netflix on November 27.

The 14th Rome Film Fest will commence from October 17 and will last till October 27.