Martin Scorsese’s movie The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, will be among the highlights of the 2019 Rome Film Festival, which runs from 17-27 October.

The Italian premiere of the much-anticipated Netflix film will take place on 21 October, a week after its European launch at the BFI London Film Festival. The screening of the movie is described by Rome Film Fest director Antonio Monda as the “centerpiece" of the 14th edition of the annual gala event.

Billed as an epic saga of organised crime in post-war America, The Irishman features a stellar cast; in addition to De Niro and Pacino, the line-up includes veteran actors and Scorsese collaborators, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel.

The Irishman sees Scorsese reunite with screenwriter Steve Zaillian — after working together on Gangs of New York (2000). The storyline is adapted from Charles Brandt’s novel, I Heard You Paint Houses, about the unsolved mystery behind the disappearance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa.