Ralph Fiennes hopes to shoot Shakespeare film debut in Belgrade

Feb 20, 2009, 14:38 GMT

Belgrade - British actor Ralph Fiennes said Friday that he will most probably shoot his directorial debut, Shakespeare's Coriolanus, in Belgrade next spring - if he can find the financing.

Fiennes, set to open 37th Belgrade International Film Festival on Friday night, told journalists that the Serbian capital, with its combination of 19th century and communist architecture and new buildings, would be an ideal location for Coriolanus.

'I've played Coriolanus nine years ago and its a political thriller in essence, Shakespeare's most dangerous play ... I would love to come and shoot Coriolanus in Belgrade, set in a modern time and modern place. I hope I'll raise finance to shoot it here in the next year,' Fiennes told journalists.

'Coriolanus is still alive as a piece today. It's a great portrait of civic unrests and a world today.'

Fiennes' new movie The Reader will open the 10-day festival which will feature more than 70 films from around the world, including Revolutionary Road, Wrestler, Uli Edel's The Baader-Meinhof Complex, Karen Shakhanzarov's The Vanished Empire, the Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading and local favorite Emir Kusturica's documentary Maradona.

Fiennes' partner in The Reader, Kate Winslet, is a favourite to win an Oscar for her portrait of illiterate concentration camp guard, and the actor believes she can win the award on Sunday night.

'I have always been Kate Winslet's fan, ever since Sense and Sensibility, but sadly I only have one scene with her in The Reader. I wish I had more. I think she has a strong chance of winning the Oscar on Sunday night,' Fiennes said.

Organisers of the festival said that more than 60,000 tickets were sold which will be a record breaking attendance in the past year.

Belgrade film festival will close on March 1 with Serbian director Darko Lungulov's debut, Here and There starring David Thornton and Mirjana Karanovic.