Venice International Film Festival

The Venice International Film Festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. The Festival also organizes retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

Venice International Film Festival started in 1932 and takes place in Venice, Italy

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3 New Films Including World Premiere of MANHUNT by John Woo Added to Venice International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_23516" align="aligncenter" width="805"] John Woo[/caption] The world premieres of Manhunt by John Woo; L’ordine delle cose by Andrea Segre; L’Enigma di Jean Rouch a Torino by Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro, Daniele Pianciola have been added to the lineup of the 74th Venice International Film Festival, taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. MANHUNT (ZHUIBU) The much-awaited return of John Woo to the crime thriller movies which made him famous, The Killer and Hardboiled. A contemporary remake of a Japanese classic of the genre, it’s the story of a Chinese man who is framed for murder in Japan; he tries to clear his name as he dodges a manhunt organized by the Japanese police and the attacks of mysterious killers. John Woo (A Better Tomorrow, Face/Off) received the Golden Lion for Career Achievement in Venice in 2010. The film will be presented Out of Competition. L’ORDINE DELLE COSE The film by Andrea Segre (Shun Li and the Poet, First Snowfall) tells the story of Corrado, a policeman who is a member of a task force running the system which controls the flow of immigrants. Corrado is sent to coordinate a delicate mission in Libya, where he meets Swada, a young Somali woman who is trying to rejoin her husband in Finland. The film will be presented in Special Screenings. L’ENIGMA DI JEAN ROUCH A TORINO – CRONACA DI UN FILM RATÉ The film by Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro and Daniele Pianciola is a documentary about a true “laboratory of ideas” and the film it generated: Enigma. The documentary reconstructs the two years between the arrival of Jean Rouch and the project’s conclusion, and is told through the voices of its protagonists as they dialogue with extraordinary material: over 20 hours of making-of. The film will be presented in the competitive section Venezia Classici – Documentaries.
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2017 Venice Film Festival Unveils Official Lineup Featuring George Clooney, Darren Aronofsky and More

[caption id="attachment_23335" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Suburbicon[/caption] The Venice Film Festival today revealed the official lineup of films for the 74th edition of the festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. The in-competition lineup features films Mother! by Darren Aronofsky, Suburbicon by George Clooney, and Downsizing by Alexander Payne.
Venezia 74
International competition of feature films, presented as world premieres AI WEIWEI – HUMAN FLOW Germany, USA, 140’ DARREN ARONOFSKY – MOTHER! USA, 120’ Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Ed Harris GEORGE CLOONEY – SUBURBICON USA, 104’ Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe, Oscar Isaac GUILLERMO DEL TORO – THE SHAPE OF WATER USA, 119’ Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer ZIAD DOUEIRI – L’INSULTE France, Lebanon, 110’ Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Rita Hayek ROBERT GUÉDIGUIAN – LA VILLA France, 107’ Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan, Jacques Boudet, Anaïs Demoustier, Robinson Stévenin ANDREW HAIGH – LEAN ON PETE United Kingdom, 121’ Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny ABDELLATIF KECHICHE – MEKTOUB, MY LOVE: CANTO UNO France, Italy, 180’ Shain Boumedine, Ophélie Baufle, Salim Kechiouche, Lou Luttiau, Alexia Chardard, Hafsia Herzi KOREEDA HIROKAZU – SANDOME NO SATSUJIN (THE THIRD MURDER) Japan, 124’ Fukuyama Masaharu, Yakusho Koji, Hirose Suzu XAVIER LEGRAND – JUSQU’À LA GARDE France, 90’ Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria, Mathilde Auneveux, Saadia Bentaïeb MANETTI BROS. – AMMORE E MALAVITA Italia, 133’ Giampaolo Morelli, Serena Rossi, Claudia Gerini, Carlo Buccirosso SAMUEL MAOZ – FOXTROT Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland, 113’ Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray MARTIN MCDONAGH – THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI United Kingdom, 110’ Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage ANDREA PALLAORO – HANNAH Italy, Belgium, France, 95’ Charlotte Rampling, André Wilms ALEXANDER PAYNE – DOWNSIZING USA, 140’ Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig VIVIAN QU – JIA NIAN HUA (ANGELS WEAR WHITE) China, France, 107’ Wen Qi, Zhou Meijun, Shi Ke, Geng Le, Liu Weiwei, Peng Jing SEBASTIANO RISO – UNA FAMIGLIA Italy, 105’ Micaela Ramazzotti, Patrick Bruel PAUL SCHRADER – FIRST REFORMED USA, 108’ Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles WARWICK THORNTON – SWEET COUNTRY Australia, 112’ con Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Hamilton Morris, Thomas M. Wright PAOLO VIRZÌ – THE LEISURE SEEKER Italia, 112’ Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland FREDERICK WISEMAN – EX LIBRIS. THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY USA, 197’
Out of Competition
Important works by directors already established in previous editions of the Festival JON ALPERT – CUBA AND THE CAMERAMAN [NON-FICTION] USA, 113’ GIANNI AMELIO – CASA D’ALTRI [SPECIAL EVENTS] Italy, 16’ RITESH BATRA – OUR SOULS AT NIGHT USA, 101’ Jane Fonda, Robert Redford DAVID BATTY – MY GENERATION [NON-FICTION] United Kingdom, 85’ Michael Caine ANTONIETTA DE LILLO – IL SIGNOR ROTPETER Italy, 37’ Marina Confalone ABEL FERRARA – PIAZZA VITTORIO [NON-FICTION] Italy, 82’ STEPHEN FREARS – VICTORIA & ABDUL United Kingdom, 149’ Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard WILLIAM FRIEDKIN – THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH [NON-FICTION] USA, 68’ RACHID HAMI – LA MÉLODIE France, 102’ Kad Merad, Samir Guesmi, Renély Alfred, Youssouf Gueye TAKESHI KITANO – OUTRAGE CODA Japan, 104’ Beat Takeshi, Nishida Toshiyuki JERRY KRAMER – MAKING OF MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER [SPECIAL EVENTS] USA, 45’ JOHN LANDIS – MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER 3D [SPECIAL EVENTS] USA, 14’ Michael Jackson, Ola Ray FERNANDO LEÓN DE ARANOA – LOVING PABLO Spain, Bulgaria, 123’ Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard LUCRECIA MARTEL – ZAMA Argentina, Brazil, 115’ Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lola Dueñas, Matheus Nachtergaele, Juan Minujín DANIEL MCCABE – THIS IS CONGO [NON-FICTION] Congo, 91’ ERROL MORRIS – WORMWOOD USA, 300’ (TV series, 6 episodes) Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker, Christian Camargo, Scott Shepherd, Tim Blake Nelson, Bob Balaban STEPHEN NOMURA SCHIBLE – RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA [NON-FICTION] USA, Japan, 100’ FRANCESCO PATIERNO – DIVA! Italy, 75’ Barbora Bobulova, Anita Caprioli, Carolina Crescentini, Silvia D’Amico, Isabella Ferrari, Carlotta Natoli, Greta Scarano, Anna Foglietta, Michele Riondino MICHAËL R. ROSKAM – LE FIDÈLE Belgium, France, Netherlands, 130’ Matthias Schoenaerts, Adèle Exarchopoulos CHRIS SMITH – JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND. THE STORY OF JIM CARREY, ANDY KAUFMAN AND TONY CLIFTON [NON-FICTION] USA, Canada, 90’ SILVIO SOLDINI – IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE Italy, Switzerland, 115’ Valeria Golino, Adriano Giannini, Arianna Scommegna, Laura Adriani JAMES TOBACK – THE PRIVATE LIFE OF A MODERN WOMAN USA, 71’ Sienna Miller, Alec Baldwin, Charles Grodin, Colleen Camp, Carl Icahn GIOVANNI TOTARO – HAPPY WINTER [NON-FICTION] Italy, 91’ S. CRAIG ZAHLER – BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 USA, 132’ Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier
Venice Virtual Reality
Competitive section of VR films, with a selection of out-of-competition VR films NICOLÁS ALCALÁ – MELITA USA, 24’ (Animation) LAURIE ANDERSON, HUANG HSIN-CHIEN – LA CAMERA INSABBIATA USA, 20’ (Animation) GABO ARORA – THE LAST GOODBYE USA, 20’ LYSANDER ASHTON, LEO WARNER – MY NAME IS PETER STILLMAN United Kingdom, 6’ (Amimation) MATHIAS CHELEBOURG – ALICE, THE VIRTUAL REALITY PLAY France, 20’ Robin Berry, Josh Jefferies EUGENE YK CHUNG – ARDEN’S WAKE EXPANDED USA, 16’ (Animation) NONNY DE LA PEÑA – GREENLAND MELTING USA, 11’ GINA KIM – DONGDUCHEON (BLOODLESS) South Korea, USA, 12’ URI KRANOT, MICHELLE KRANOT – NOTHING HAPPENS Denmark, France, 14’ (Animation) MI LI – SHI MENG LAO REN (THE DREAM COLLECTOR) China, 11’ (Animation) RICHARD MILLS, KIM-LEIGH PONTIN – NEFERTITI United Kingdom, 15’ (Animation) RAFAEL PAVÓN, NICOLÁS ALCALÁ – SNATCH VR HEIST EXPERIENCE USA, 5’ Rupert Grint, Luke Pasqualino, Lucien Laviscount, Phoebe Dynevor
Orizzonti
A competition dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema ALI ASGARI – NAPADID SHODAN (DISAPPEARANCE) Iran, Qatar, 89′ with Sadaf Asgari, Amir Reza Ranjbaran, Nafiseh Zare, Sahar Sotoodeh GILLES BOURDOS – ESPÈCES MENACÉES France, Belgium, 105’ with Alice Isaaz, Vincent Rottiers, Grégory Gadebois, Suzanne Clément NANCY BUIRSKI – THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR Usa, 91′ LUCIEN CASTAING-TAYLOR, VERENA PARAVEL – CANIBA France , 90′ SOFIA DJAMA – LES BIENHEUREUX France, Belgium, 102′ with Sami Bouajila, Nadia Kaci, Amine Lansari, Lyna Khoudri ANNE FONTAINE – MARVIN France , 115′ with Finnegan Oldfield, Isabelle Huppert, Grégory Gadebois, Vincent Macaigne PABLO GIORGELLI – INVISIBLE Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, 87’ with Mora Arenillas, Mara Bestelli, Diego Cremonesi COSIMO GOMEZ – BRUTTI E CATTIVI Italy, France, 87’ with Claudio Santamaria, Marco D’Amore, Sara Serraiocco TZAHI GRAD – HA BEN DOD (THE COUSIN) Israel, 92′ with Ala Dakka, Tzahi Grad, Osnat Fishman AMICHAI GREENBERG – HA EDUT (THE TESTAMENT) Israel, Austria, 91’ with Ori Pfeffer, Rivka Gur, Hagit Dasberg Shamul, Ori Yaniv
Cinema nel Giardino
Films, talks, and visions DARIO ALBERTINI – MANUEL Italy, 97’ Andrea Lattanzi, Giulia Elettra Gorietti, Francesca Antonelli, Raffaella Rea RÄ DI MARTINO – CONTROFIGURA Italy, France, Morocco, Switzerland, 75’ Valeria Golino, Filippo Timi, Corrado Sassi, Nadia Kounda, Younes Bouab KATE MULLEAVY, LAURA MULLEAVY – WOODSHOCK USA, 116’ Kirsten Dunst, Pilou Asbaek, Joe Cole, Stephan Duvall BRUNO OLIVIERO – NATO A CASAL DI PRINCIPE Italy, Spain, 96’ Alessio Lapice, Massimiliano Gallo, Donatella Finocchiaro, Lucia Sardo, Antonio Pennarella MICHELE PLACIDO, ANDREA MOLAIOLI, GIUSEPPE CAPOTONDI – SUBURRA. LA SERIE Italy, 100’ Alessandro Borghi, Giacomo Ferrara, Eduardo Valdarnini, Francesco Acquaroli, Filippo Nigro, Claudia Gerini FRANÇOIS TROUKENS, JEAN-FRANÇOIS HENSGENS – TUEURS Belgium, France, 86’ Olivier Gourmet, Lubna Azabal, Kevin Janssens, Bouli Lanners
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7 Feature Films to Compete at 2017 Venice International Film Critics’ Week

[caption id="attachment_23259" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Pin Cushion[/caption] The 2017 Venice International Film Critics’ Week will screen a selection of seven debut films in competition and two special events out of competition, all presented in world premiere screenings. The Venice International Film Critics’ Week is an independent and parallel section organized by the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) during the 74th Venice International Film Festival running August 30th to September 9th, 2017. The selection is curated by the General Delegate of the Venice Critics’ Week Giona A. Nazzaro together with the members of the selection committee Luigi Abiusi, Alberto Anile, Beatrice Fiorentino and Massimo Tria. The DC Comics and Marvel Comics illustrator Carmine Di Giandomenico designed the futuristic cinematic muse for the 32nd edition of the independent sidebar dedicated to debut feature films. The 2017 Venice International Film Critics’ Week official selection includes:
COMPETITION
IL CRATERE | CRATER by Luca Bellino, Silvia Luzi (Italy) DRIFT by Helena Wittmann (Germany) LES GARÇONS SAUVAGES| THE WILD BOYS by Bertrand Mandico (France) KÖRFEZ | THE GULF by Emre Yeksan (Turkey, Germany, Greece) SARAH JOUE UN LOUP GAROU | SARAH PLAYS A WEREWOLF by Katharina Wyss (Switzerland, Germany) TEAM HURRICANE by Annika Berg (Denmark) TEMPORADA DE CAZA | HUNTING SEASON by Natalia Garagiola (Argentina, USA, Germany, France, Qatar)
SPECIAL EVENTS – OUT OF COMPETITION
Opening Film PIN CUSHION by Deborah Haywood (United Kingdom) Closing Film VELENO | POISON – THE LAND OF FIRES by Diego Olivares (Italy)
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Edgar Wright, Rebecca Hall, John Landis Among Venice International Film Festival Jury

[caption id="attachment_23250" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Rebecca Hall in Christine[/caption] The Venice International Film Festival has selected the members of the four international Juries (Venezia 74, Orizzonti, “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for Best Debut Film, Venice Virtual Reality) for the upcoming 74th edition taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. The Presidents of the four Juries are Annette Bening, Gianni Amelio, John Landis and Benoît Jacquot
Venezia 74
In addition to the president, actress Annette Bening, the members are: The Hungarian director and screenwriter Ildikó Enyedi; she won the Golden Camera for Best Debut Film at Cannes for MyTwentieth Century; the movie was included on the list of the 12 best Hungarian films of all time. She participated In Competition in Venice in 1994 with Magic Hunter and in Locarno in 1999 with Simon the Magician. Her most recent film, On Body and Soul, won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2017. The director, producer and screenwriter Michel Franco. Born and raised in Mexico he has made five feature films, four of which were presented in Cannes. Después de Lucía and Las hijas de Abril won Best Film and the Special Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard, respectively. Chronic, presented In Competition, won Best Screenplay. He produced Desde allá by Lorenzo Vigas, which won the Golden Lion in Venice in 2015. The British actress Rebecca Hall; she spends her time between Great Britain and the United States, where she has worked with directors such as Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen, thanks to whom she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She has also appeared in The Town, A Promise and Iron Man 3. She received critical acclaim and major international awards for her performance in Christine. The actress Anna Mouglalis is an iconic figure of French art house cinema. At a very young age, she appeared in La captive (2000) by Chantal Akerman. She became famous in Italy thanks to her role in Romanzo criminale (2005) by Michele Placido. She spends her time between Italy and France, making art house films with directors such as Arnaud Desplechin, Mario Martone and Philippe Garrel, and she is in the cast of Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque), a protagonist at the 2011 César awards. The Anglo-Australian film critic David Stratton; he directed the Sydney Film Festival for almost twenty years and has been a member of the jury at major film festivals all over the world, including Venice, Cannes and Berlin. Stratton collaborated with Variety for twenty years and he has produced and hosted important television programs about cinema. The actress Jasmine Trinca; she is one of the most important Italian actresses of her generation. She has appeared in films by important directors such as Nanni Moretti, Marco Tullio Giordana, Michele Placido and Taviani brothers. In 2009, she won the Marcello Mastroianni Award in Venice for The Big Dream and in 2017 she was awarded Best Actress in Un Certain Regard at Cannes for Fortunata. She has also won two Silver Ribbons. The English director and screenwriter Edgar Wright; he is the director of the iconic “Three Flavours Cornetto” Trilogy, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, started with Shaun of the Dead (2004), which revitalized genre parodies. In 2010, he directed Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, an original experiment overlapping film and comics. At the moment, his film Baby Driver is receiving acclaim in the American theaters and it will be released in Italy on September 7th. The director, producer and screenwriter Yonfan; world traveler, active across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, he has written, directed and produced all thirteen of his own movies, including Breaking the Willow (2003) and Prince of Tears (2009), both of which were presented in Venice, the latter film in Competition; he also participated in the project Venezia 70 – Future Reloaded. He has worked with the top Hong Kong stars, including Maggie Cheung, Chow Yung-fat and Daniel Wu, who became well-known for his role in Bishonen. The Jury for the Venezia 74 Competition will award the following official prizes: Golden Lion for Best Film; Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize; Silver Lion for Best Director; Coppa Volpi for Best Actor; Coppa Volpi for Best Actress; Award for Best Screenplay; the Special Jury Prize and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
Orizzonti
The members of the International Jury of the Orizzonti section are: The Italian director Gianni Amelio (President of the Jury). He debuted in feature films with Colpire al cuore (1982), which participated In Competition in Venice, where he won the Golden Lion in 1998 with Così ridevano; he returned to Venice three more times. Other films of his include The Stolen Children (Grand Prize of the Jury in Cannes in 1992), Lamerica and The Keys to the House. This year, La tenerezza received the Silver Ribbon for Best Film. Rakhshan Banietemad is one of Iran’s most important filmmakers, the director of numerous documentaries and fiction films such as Under the Skin of the City and Our Times, fundamental works of Iranian cinema. In 1995, The Blue Veiled won the Bronze Leopard in Locarno, while Taleswon Best Screenplay at Venice 71. The American director Ami Canaan Mann. She has directed three feature films. She debuted in 2001 with Morning; in 2011 she presented Texas Killing Fields In Competition in Venice, where she returned three years later with Jackie & Ryan, selected for the Orizzonti section. She has directed episodes for several TV series such as Robbery Homicide Division and, most recently, Shots Fired and Sneaky Pete. The Irish-Scottish director, screenwriter and curator Mark Cousins. He has made many documentaries and is particularly famous for his monumental The Story of Film: An Odyssey, a 930-minute journey through the history of cinema. He has also made short films and experimental works, and is a university professor and essayist. He directed his first fiction film, Stockholm, My Love, in 2016. The Argentine screenwriter, architect and artistic curator Andrés Duprat. He wrote the screenplays of El artista (2008), El hombre de al lado (2010), Querida voy a comprar cigarrillos y vuelvo (2011) and El ciudadano ilustre (2016), all of which were directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat. El ciudadano ilustre allowed Oscar Martínez to winthe Coppa Volpi in Venice. Duprat is the curator of the Pavilion of Argentina at the 57th International Art Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia. The Belgian director and screenwriter Fien Troch. She debuted in feature films in 2005 with Someone Else’s Happiness, presented in Toronto, where she returned with her next film, Unspoken. Her most recent movie, Home, won Best Director in the Orizzonti section in Venice in 2016. Rebecca Zlotowski is a French screenwriter and the director of three feature films. Her first movie, Belle épine, was presented in 2010 in Cannes, where she returned in 2013 with Grand Central in Un Certain Regard. Planetarium, her 2016 film starring Natalie Portman, was presented Out of Competition in Venice. The Jury of the Orizzonti section will award the following prizes, with no ex-aequo (tie) permitted: Orizzonti Award for Best Film; Orizzonti Award for Best Director; Special Orizzonti Jury Prize; Orizzonti Award for Best Actor; Orizzonti Award for Best Actress; Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay; Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.
“Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film – Lion of the Future
The members of the International Jury of the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film – Lion of the Future are: The French director and screenwriter Benoît Jacquot (President of the Jury). He has participated several times In Competition at the Venice Film Festival, with Le septième ciel in 1997; Pas de scandale in 1999; L’intouchable in 2006, for which the film’s protagonist Isild Le Besco received the Marcello Mastroianni Award; and 3 coeurs in 2014. The British author, professor, interviewer and film programmer Geoff Andrew. He has been the editor and lead writer of Time Out and a regular contributor to Sight & Sound for many years. Andrew was the head programmer at the National Film Theatre (now BFI Southbank) and a programming consultant for the London Film Festival. Albert Lee is one of the most experienced and versatile figures in Hong Kong’s film industry. He has worked as producer with directors such as Herman Yau, Dante Lam, Benny Chan and Jeff Lau. He is well-known for his long-standing collaboration with the Chinese director Jiang Wen, which began in 2007 with The Sun Also Rises, presented In Competition in Venice. The Italian actress Greta Scarano. She starred in the film Senza nessuna pietà by Michele Alhaique, presented in Venice in 2014 in the Orizzonti section. She received the Silver Ribbon and the Golden Ciak as the discovery of the year for her performance in Suburra by Stefano Sollima. Greta Scarano plays Elisa in Sky’s cult TV series In Treatment. Yorgos Zois is a Greek director who has worked as an assistant to Theo Angelopoulos. His first short, Casus Belli, was presented in 2010 in Venice, where he returned two years later with Out of Frame, which was nominated at the 2012 European Film Award and also received several other international awards. His first feature film, Interruption, was presented in the Orizzonti section in 2015. The Jury will award, with no ex-aequo awards (tie) permitted, the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film to one of the debut feature-length films selected from the various competition sections of the Venice Film Festival (Official Selection and Independent and Parallel Sidebars). The Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film comes with a cash prize of 100,000 USD donated by Filmauro, to be divided equally between the director and the producer.
Venice Virtual Reality
The members of the International Jury of the Venice Virtual Reality section are: The director John Landis (President of the Jury), a key figure in American cinema for the past forty years. Landis has influenced generations of filmmakers with his movies, which include Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places. Into the Night, one of his most famous movies, will be screened in its restored version in Venice this year. In 2008 Landis was a jury member for the Competition at the 65th Venice Film Festival. The French screenwriter and director Céline Sciamma. Naissance des pieuvres, her first film, was presented in Cannes in 2007, as was Bande de filles seven years later. She became famous with her second feature film, Tomboy, presented in Berlin and the winner of many awards. Her screenplays include Ma vie de courgette, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. The actor and director Ricky Tognazzi. He won a Silver Bear for Best Director with Ultrà, tying with The Silence of the Lambs, and a David di Donatello in the same category, a feat he repeated two years later with La scorta, which participated In Competition in Cannes. In 2011, he presented Tutta colpa della musica in Venice. He has performed in movies such as Una storia semplice and Caruso Pascoski di padre polacco. The Jury of Venice Virtual Reality will award, with no ex-aequo awards (tie) permitted, the following prizes: Best VR Film, Grand VR Jury Prize, Best VR Creativity Award.
Venezia Classici
Italian director Giuseppe Piccioni (Not of This World, Light of My Eyes, These Days) will chair the Jury of Cinema History Students which will award the Venezia Classici Award for the Best Restored Film and the Best Documentary On Cinema.
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“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” Among Films on Venice Film Fest’s Venezia Classici Lineup

[caption id="attachment_23210" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Close Encounters of the Third Kind[/caption] Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind are among the numerous restored masterpieces in the Venezia Classici section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival. Italian director Giuseppe Piccioni (Not of This World, Light of My Eyes, These Days) will chair the Jury of Cinema History Students which – for the fifth time – will award the Venezia Classici Award for the Best Restored Film and the Best Documentary on Cinema. The film in the Venezia Classici section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival include:1900 by Bernardo Bertolucci (1976); Red Desert by Michelangelo Antonioni (1964), awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival; A Story from Chikamatsu (1954) and Sansho the Bailiff (1954), awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival, by Kenji Mizoguchi; Wanderers of the Desert by Nacer Khemir (1984); The Revolt of Mamie Stover by Raoul Walsh (1956); The Third Lover by Claude Chabrol (1962); Black Peter by Miloš Forman (1963); Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Steven Spielberg (1977); Batch ’81 by Mike De Leon (1982), and Into the Night by John Landis (1985). The 74th Venice International Film Festival will be held at the Lido from August 30 to September 9, 2017. The list of the films selected for the Venezia Classici section of the 74th Festival: Les baliseurs du désert / El-haimoune (Wanderers of the Desert) by Nacer Khemir (Tunisie, France, 1984, 95’, COL.) Restoration: Cinémathèque royale de Belgique Batch ‘81 by Mike De Leon (Philippines, 1982, 108’, COL.) Restoration: Asian Film Archive Cerný Petr (Black Peter)by Miloš Forman (Czechoslovakia, 1963, 89’, B/W) Restoration: Národní filmový archiv Chikamatsu monogatari (A Story from Chikamatsu) by Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1954, 102’, B/W) Restoration: Kadokawa Corporation, The Film Foundation with the cooperation of The Japan Foundation Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Steven Spielberg (USA, 1977, 137’, COL.) Restoration: Sony Pictures Entertainment Daïnah la métisse by Jean Grémillon (France, 1932, 48’, B/W) followed by Zéro de conduite – rushes by Jean Vigo (France, 1933, 20’, B/W) Restoration: Gaumont with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée Il deserto rosso (Red Desert) by Michelangelo Antonioni (Italy, 1964, 120’, COL.) Restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale with the cooperation of RTI-Mediaset Deux ou trois choses que je sais d’elle (Two or Three Things I Know About Her) by Jean-Luc Godard (France, 1967, 87’, COL.) Restoration: Argos Films with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée La donna scimmia (The Ape Woman) by Marco Ferreri (Italy, France, 1964, 93’, B/W) Restoration: Cineteca di Bologna and TF1 Studio with the cooperation of Surf Film Idi i smotri (Come and See) by Elem Klimov (USSR, 1985, 143’, COL.) Restoration: Mosfilm (producer of the restoration, Karen Shakhnazarov) Into the Night by John Landis (USA, 1985, 115’, COL.) Restoration: Universal Pictures Non c’è pace tra gli ulivi (Under the Olive Tree) by Giuseppe De Santis (Italy, 1950, 107’, B/W) Restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale with the cooperation of CristaldiFilm by Zeudi Araya and Massimo Cristaldi Novecento (1900) by Bernardo Bertolucci (Italy, 1976, 317’, COL.) Restoration: 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Istituto Luce – Cinecittà and Cineteca di Bologna, with the cooperation of Alberto Grimaldi and the support of Massimo Sordella Ochazuke no Aji (Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) by Yasujiro Ozu (Japan, 1952, 115’, B/W) Restoration: Shochiku Co., Ltd. L’oeil du malin(The Third Lover) by Claude Chabrol (France, 1962, 91’, B/W) Restoration: Studiocanal with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée The Old Dark House by James Whale (USA, 1933, 72’, B/W) Restoration: Cohen Film Collection / Cohen Media Group The Revolt of Mamie Stover by Raoul Walsh (USA, 1956, 93’, COL.) Restoration: 20th Century Fox Sansho dayu (Sansho the Bailiff) by Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1954, 126’, B/W) Restoration: Kadokawa Corporation, The Film Foundation with the cooperation of The Japan Foundation The Venezia Classici section will also feature the presentation of a selection of documentaries about cinema and its filmmakers. The complete list of the section will be announced during the press conference presenting the program of the Venice Film Festival, on Thursday, July 27th at 11 am in Rome (Cinema Moderno).
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World Premiere of NICO, 1988 Starring Trine Dyrholm to Open Orizzonti Section of Venice International Film Festival

The world premiere of Nico, 1988 directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, and starring Trine Dyrholm (Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival in 2016) will be the opening film of the Orizzonti section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival. Set between Paris, Prague, Nuremberg, Manchester, the Polish countryside and the Roman seaside, Nico, 1988 is a road-movie dedicated to the last years of Christa Päffgen, known by her stage name “Nico”. One of Warhol’s muses, the singer of the Velvet Underground and a woman of legendary beauty, Nico lived a second life after the story known to all, when she began her career as a solo artist. Her music is among the most original of the Seventies and Eighties, and has influenced much of the musical production that followed. The “priestess of darkness”, as she was called, found her true calling after age forty, when she shook off the weight of her beauty and rebuilt her relationship with her only forgotten son. Nico, 1988 is the story of Nico’s last tour with the band that accompanied her around Europe in the Eighties. It is the story of a rebirth, an artist, a mother, the woman beyond the icon. The director Susanna Nicchiarelli explains: “This is the story of Nico after Nico. People usually talk about her only in relation to the men she was with when she was young: Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, Alain Delon, Iggy Pop. I once read in an interview that “at age 34 Nico was finished”. That’s not true. After her experience with the Velvet Underground, Nico became a great musician. I wanted to tell the story of her journey from a different point of view and focusing on the loss of consensus and the change in her image that both gave her back her freedom”.
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Jane Fonda and Robert Redford to Receive Venice International Film Fest Lifetime Achievement Awards

Actors Jane Fonda and Robert Redford will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 74th Venice International Film Festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. The ceremony to award the Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement will take place on Friday September 1st in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema (Lido di Venezia) before the Out of Competition screening of the Netflix original film, Our Souls at Night by Ritesh Batra, starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and produced by Mr. Redford and his company Wildwood Enterprises, Inc. Commenting on these acknowledgments, Director Alberto Barbera stated: “Few Hollywood legends have demonstrated such determination and courage over the course of their professional career as Jane Fonda. Her life has been marked by intense passion in her pursuit of freedom from every type of conformism, with a touching and vulnerable generosity. At times a political and social activist, a sex symbol, a writer, a feminist icon, a producer, and a prophet of physical fitness, but above all an extraordinarily successful and talented actress, Jane Fonda is one of the great protagonists of contemporary International cinema. This Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement is a due tribute to the personal commitment and brilliant qualities of an actress who has brought unforgettable, controversial, and heterogeneous characters to life, demonstrating an unceasing ability to reinvent herself, all the while remaining true to herself, to her values, and to her indisputable artistic talent.” Says Festival Director Alberto Barbera: “Actor, director, producer, environmentalist, founder and soul of that brilliant experiment in film called Sundance – whether in front or behind the camera, advocating for the cause of independent cinema or the cause of our planet, Robert Redford has led us through almost five decades of compelling filmmaking and advocacy with a combination of rigor, intelligence and grace that is virtually unsurpassed. A slightly reluctant star, since very early in his career Redford has used his onscreen talent and success to make films about issues he cared about and to pave the way for other independent filmmakers like him. A thoughtful, instinctive actor with a keen sense of detail, as an Academy Award-winning director and producer, Redford has proven himself a masterful storyteller. His commitment to characters and story match his commitment and passion for the complex beauty and values of our ever evolving world.” Based on the novel written by Kent Haruf and adapted for the screen by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (The Fault in Our Stars), the Netflix original film, Our Souls at Night is set in Colorado and begins when Addie Moore (Jane Fonda) pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters (Robert Redford). Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they’d been neighbors for decades, but had little contact. The film will launch globally on Netflix later this year.
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DOWNSIZING Starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig to Open Venice International Film Festival

Downsizing, directed by Alexander Payne and starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau and Kristen Wiig will be the opening film, in Competition, of the 74th Venice International Film Festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. Downsizing will be shown in its world premiere screening on Wednesday August 30th in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido di Venezia. Downsizing follows the adventures of Paul Safranek (Matt Damon), an everyman from Omaha who, along with his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig), dreams of a better life. As the world faces an overpopulation crisis, scientists develop a radical solution that can shrink humans to five inches tall. People soon discover how much further money goes in a smaller world, and with the promise of a lavish lifestyle beyond their wildest imaginations, Paul and Audrey decide to risk the controversial procedure and embark upon an adventure that will change their lives forever.
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Actress Annette Bening Named Jury President of Venice International Film Festival

Annette Bening (photo Jon Rou/Loyola Marymount University)

Actress Annette Bening will be the president of the International Jury of the Competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017, which will assign the Golden Lion for best film, as well as other official awards.

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Award Winners of 2015 Venice International Film Festival, Lorenzo Vigas’ FROM AFAR Wins Golden Lion for Best Film | TRAILER

DESDE ALLÁ (FROM AFAR) by Lorenzo Vigas is the winner of the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. In the film, wealthy middle-aged Armando lures young men to his home with money. He doesn’t want to touch, only watch from a strict distance. He also follows an elderly businessman with whom he seems to have had a traumatic relationship. Armando’s first encounter with street thug Elder is violent, but this doesn’t discourage the lonely man’s fascination with the tough handsome teenager. Financial interest keeps Elder visiting him regularly and an unexpected intimacy emerges. But Armando’s haunted past looms large, and Elder commits the ultimate act of affection on Armando’s behalf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGxY3tu9mDg Official Awards of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival Golden Lion for Best Film to: DESDE ALLÁ (FROM AFAR) by Lorenzo Vigas (Venezuela, Mexico) Silver Lion for Best Director to: Pablo Trapero for the film EL CLAN (Argentina, Spain) Grand Jury Prize to: ANOMALISA by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson (USA) Coppa Volpi for Best Actress: Valeria Golino in the film PER AMOR VOSTRO by Giuseppe Gaudino (Italy) Coppa Volpi for Best Actor: Fabrice Luchini in the film L’HERMINE by Christian Vincent (France) Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor to: Abraham Attah in the film BEASTS OF NO NATION by Cary Joji Fukunaga (USA) Award for Best Screenplay to: Christian Vincent for the film L’HERMINE by Christian Vincent (France) Special Jury Prize to: ABLUKA (FRENZY) by Emin Alper (Turkey, France, Qatar) LION OF THE FUTURE – “LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS” VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film Jury at the 72nd Venice Film Festival, chaired by Saverio Costanzo and comprised of Charles Burnett, Roger Garcia, Natacha Laurent and Daniela Michel, has decided to award: Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film to: THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER by Brady Corbet (United Kingdom, Hungary) (ORIZZONTI) as well as a prize of 100,000 USD, donated by Filmauro di Aurelio e Luigi De Laurentiis to be divided equally between director and producer ORIZZONTI AWARDS The Orizzonti Jury of the 72nd Venice Film Festival, chaired by Jonathan Demme and composed of Anita Caprioli, Fruit Chan, Alix Delaporte and Paz Vega having viewed the 34 films in competition has decided to award: the Orizzonti Award for Best Film to: FREE IN DEED by Jake Mahaffy (USA, New Zealand) the Orizzonti Award for Best Director to: Brady Corbet for THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER by Brady Corbet (United Kingdom, Hungary) the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize to: BOI NEON (NEON BULL) by Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil, Uruguay, The Netherlands) the Special Orizzonti Award for Best Actor to: Dominique Lebornein the film TEMPÊTE by Samuel Collardey the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film to: BELLADONNA by Dubravka Turic (Croatia) the Venice Short Film Nomination for the European Film Awards 2015 to: E.T.E.R.N.I.T. by Giovanni Aloi (France) VENEZIA CLASSICI AWARDS The Venezia Classici Jury, chaired by Francesco Patierno composed of 25 students of Cinema History, chosen in particular from the teachers of 12 Italian Dams university programmes and from the Venice University of Ca’ Foscari, has decided to award: the Venezia Classici Award for Best Documentary on Cinema to: THE 1000 EYES OF DR. MADDIN by Yves Montmayeur (France) the Venezia Classici Award for Best Restored Film to: SALÒ O LE 120 GIORNATE DI SODOMA by Pier Paolo Pasolini (1975, Italy, France) Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 2015 to: Bertrand Tavernier Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to The Filmmaker Award 2015 to: Brian De Palma Persol Tribute Visionary Talent Award 2015 to: Jonathan Demme L’oréal Paris per il Cinema Award to: Valentina Corti
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Director Jonathan Demme to be Honored at Venice International Film Festival

Director Jonathan Demme (Ricki and the Flash, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married) will be honored with the Persol Tribute to Visionary Talent Award at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. The festival also selected Jonathan Demme to be the President of the Orizzonti Jury. The Director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera, commented “Jonathan Demme is part of that generation of cinephile auteurs who revolutionized Hollywood in the Seventies. From the cultured reinterpretation of genres in his early films, to the development of a personal film style deeply rooted in the individual, to his systematic incursion into documentary filmmaking distinguished by his innovative approach, Demme has brought to life a vivid gallery of characters against the background of an exuberantly pop American landscape that harks back to the classic figurative experiences of the Sixties, anticipating the post-Modernist experimentation of many contemporary auteurs. Colourful, exuberant, straightforward, passionate and intelligent, his cinema moves easily from studio productions to independent, fiction and documentary films, indulging his personal taste for the unexpected, for a shift in tone or genre within each individual film, which has become the original and recognizable hallmark of his style”.
Jonathan Demme is considered to be one of the most important authors in contemporary cinema. He is a director, producer and screenwriter. He has directed unforgettable world-famous masterpieces such as The Silence of the Lambs (1991), winner of five Oscars including Best Film and Best Director, and Philadelphia(1993), winner of two Oscars. He made his debut as a director in 1974 at Roger Corman’s production company, and has since directed over thirty films, in various genres from horror to comedy, some of which have become cult movies, such as The Last Embrace (1979),Something Wild (1986) and Married to the Mob (1988). Demme has demonstrated remarkable talent in directing films with strong musical elements (Stop Making Sense, 1984; Neil Young: Heart of Gold, 2006; Ricki and the Flash, 2015). He has participated many times in the Venice Film Festival with some of his most significant films, such as Melvin and Howard (1980, in Competition, winner of two Oscars), The Manchurian Candidate (2004, Out of Competition), Man from Plains (2007, Orizzonti Doc), Rachel Getting Married (2008, in Competition), I’m Caroline Parker: the Good, the Bad and the Beautiful (2011, Orizzonti) and Enzo Avitabile Music Life (2012, Out of Competition). His newest film is Ricki and the Flash (2015), with Meryl Streep
The 72nd Venice International Film Festival will be held on the Lido from September 2nd to 12th 2015.
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Mexican Director Arturo Ripstein to Be Honored at 2015 Venice International Film Festival

Mexican director Arturo Ripstein will be honored at the upcoming 72nd Venice International Film Festival as celebration of his fiftieth year as a filmmaker. The ceremony will take place on the night of the presentation of his latest film, La calle de la amargura. The Director of the Venice Film Festival Alberto Barbera stated: “Arturo Ripstein is the most vital, tenacious and original director of the generation that made its debut in the mid-Sixties, the heir of the golden age of Mexican studio films and the forerunner of the new generation of contemporary authors such as Carlos Reygadas, Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Pereda, each of whom in their own way, recognizes the profound debt that they owe to his work. In his so many unforgettable films, most of them co-written with Paz Alicia Garciadiego, Ripstein has brought to life a restless and afflicted universe, populated with characters pathetically on the verge of the abyss into which they are destined to fall. The strange blend of beauty and brutality, compassion and violence, irony and sadness, adds a wholly personal dimension to his cinema, which delves its roots into popular tragedy and the atmospheres of melodrama, which he cleverly re-elaborates. These elements are also to be found, their power and beauty intact, in his latest film, which the Venice Film Festival has the pleasure of presenting in its world premiere screening”. The awards ceremony for this honor will take place before the screening of the film, which is scheduled for Thursday September 10th, in the Palazzo del Cinema’s Sala Grande.
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