Susan Sarandon to Be Honored at Rome Film Festival Sidebar Where ‘The Accompanist’ Will Bow Internationally (EXCLUSIVE)

Susan Sarandon will be honored by the Rome Film Festival’s independently run Alice in the City sidebar, which is dedicated to films for children and youth.

Sarandon will be attending the Eternal City fest to promote the international launch of “Silicon Valley” star Zach Woods’ feature film debut “The Accompanist,” in which she stars; and to receive the event’s Womenlands Excellence Award dedicated to outstanding Italian and international women who distinguish themselves in the worlds of culture, entertainment and activism.

In “The Accompanist,” Sarandon plays Sylvia, a chain-smoking, sharp-tongued, first-time foster parent to a spirited eight-year-old named Emily. The indie dramedy launched positively from the Tribeca Film Festival in June.

“From ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ to ‘The Hunger,’ from ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ to ‘Thelma & Louise,’ to ‘Dead Man Walking,’ Sarandon has spanned decades of cinema, building a gallery of female characters that cannot be reduced to a single model,” the fest said in a statement praising her career. The statement added that the characters she plays in these films are all “Women who question identity, desire, power, rules and freedom.” “But the common thread running through her journey is not only the roles she has chosen,” it continued.

“It is also her ability to maintain her own autonomy from the Hollywood system, bringing together artistic choices, personal freedom and consistency of her own convictions,” the statement went on to point out.

Sarandon, who recently attended the Venice Film Festival in September with her latest film, Italian director Andrea Pallaoro’s “The Echo Chamber,” said in Venice that she continues to be shunned by Hollywood over her outspoken support of Palestine.

Previous recipients of Rome’s Alice in the City Womenlands Excellence Award include Paz Vega, Nastassja Kinski and Italy’s Laura Luchetti.

The Rome Film Festival runs Oct. 13-25.