Rome enters "Golden Age" with Blanchett

Cate Blanchett arrives to attend the '100 Most Influential People In The World' gala hosted
by Time Magazine in New York in this file photo dated May 8, 2007.[Reuters]

Oscar winner Cate Blanchett will preside over the official opening of this year's RomaCinemaFest, and her new film, Shekar Kapur's "The Golden Age," will receive its world premiere there, organizers said Thursday.

The RomaCinemaFest will take place October 18-27.

It will be the second time in as many years that the Rome event will be opened by an Australian actress. Last year, Nicole Kidman opened the festival's debut edition before the screening of her film "Fur."

In "The Golden Age," Blanchett reprises the role of Queen Elizabeth I, which she played in Kapur's 1998 "Elizabeth." The new film explores the relationship between the queen and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, played by Clive Owen. The film also stars Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham and Samantha Morton as Mary Queen of Scots.