Coppola was born in Detroit and grew up in New York

The Italian-American director will showcase his World War II film Youth Without Youth, starring Tim Roth, according to Screen Daily.

Roth stars as an elderly professor whose apparent immortality makes him a target for the Nazis.

"This film represents a new period in my career, where I intend to make only personal films," said Coppola.

"I look forward to showing it at this new festival in Italy, whose great masters such as Rossellini, Fellini, Pasolini and Antonioni inspired my early career," he added.

Public vote

Coppola also wrote the screenplay, based on the novella by Romanian author Mircea Eliade.

Coppola has won five Oscars, the first of which was for his screenplay for Patton in 1971, starring George C Scott.

He won the best director Oscar in 1975 for the Godfather: Part II, which also took the best picture award.

He has received best director Academy Award nominations a further three times and been nominated for the best picture award on four other occasions.

Actress Nicole Kidman opened the first Rome Film Fest last year.

Unusually, the major awards are voted for by a group of film fans drawn from members of the public.