Archaeological documentaries about the Valley of the Buddha in Afghanistan, the Libyan desert, the archaeological museum in Baghdad, mysterious ancient Sardinian cultures and a virtual reconstruction of Troy will be screened at Romes first archaeological film festival from 17-20 March.

Twenty films will be shown over the four days but only ten of them will compete for the Capitello doro prize. The film festival is restricted to documentaries about places of great artistic and environmental interest and recent archaeological discoveries and events.

The festival opens on the day that Roma the 12-part serial about ancient Rome will begin on Rai television. The BBC and Hbo production, which was filmed at Cinecitt in Rome, has received considerable criticism and will be the subject of a conference on the opening day of the festival.

Auditorium Parco della Musica, Via P. de Coubertin, Rome.

Entry to the festival is free but it is necessary to book by contacting Microcosmi tel. 0670304169 or see www.auditorium.it