The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world - and the one with the most beautiful backdrop. This year's program boasts veteran filmmakers and Hollywood buzz. But who'll be on the red carpet?
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Advertisement
Venice Film Festival: From icy peaks to red carpets
Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp are among the superstars awaited at the Venice Film Festival. A major league affair in a postcard city, the festival runs from September 2-12.
Image: picture alliance/ZB
The Lions are ready
There are 21 films competing this year for the Golden and Silver Lions. The Venice Film Festival cleverly combines art and business. Although Cannes dominates the European Festival circuit, the glamorous Venice Lido belongs in the major leagues, along with Berlin and Toronto. The festival runs from September 2-12.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Icy opening
The Italian festival aims to reach the peaks: It opens in the snowy Himalayas, with the mountain climber drama "Everest."
Image: Universal Pictures
White disaster thriller
The film was directed by Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur and features a bunch of Hollywood stars, such as Emily Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal. The story is based on the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, when eight mountain climbers died trying to reach the summit.
Image: Universal Pictures
Prize-winning jury president
"Everest" is not included in the competition lineup of 21 films. At the head of the jury this year is the filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón (who directed the third "Harry Potter" film). He is the first Mexican director to have won an Academy Award, with his science fiction thriller, "Gravity."
Image: Reuters
Jury support from Germany
Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón will be accompanied by the actress Diane Kruger, as one of the members of the international jury. Kruger, who was born in Germany, starred in several Hollywood productions, including Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." She'll definitely feel comfortable on the red carpet in Venice.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Beyond the Lion...
Although the media will be focusing on the films vying for the Golden Lion, the festival additionally offers a varied out-of-competition program, with many premieres and movies from all over the world.
Image: picture alliance/ZB
German co-productions
No German director made it into the competition this year, but some German co-productions are on the list. Among them is the new film by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (pictured). "Remember" is a present-day story about former Nazis living undiscovered and their traumatized victims. It stars Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau and Bruno Ganz..
Image: Getty Images
No support from Russia
Although Aleksandr Sokurov is Russian, it is difficult for this major film director to get his films financed in his home country. His movie "Francofonia" is a French-German-Dutch co-production. The World War II drama is about the efforts to rescue artworks from the Louvre museum in Paris.
Image: imago/ITAR-TASS
At the helm
Alberto Barbera, born in 1950, is a former film critic and now the director of the Venice Film Festival. He has contributed to upgrading the reputation of the festival by offering solid programs over the years. How will this year's selection fare?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Homage to Mario Monicelli
This year's program includes a tribute to Italian director Mario Monicelli (1935-2010), who was nominated for an Oscar six times over his career. He was the creator of brilliant comedies, creating a whole new genre called "Commedia all'italiana." Monicelli was a guest at the festival in 2009.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Meyer
Prestigious award
The 72nd Venice International Film Festival opens on September 2 with stars like Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp walking the red carpet. Ten days later, the glamor and the buzz will all be over - leaving at least one happy filmmaker holding on to a Golden Lion.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
11 images1 | 11
For the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, director Alberto Barbera has prepared a mix of Hollywood productions, European art films as well as contributions from Latin America, Asia, Israel and Australia.
Reflecting the way the world structures have evolved, the film industry no longer has exclusive monopolistic centers, said Barbera in his official speech. Cinema is "moving in a new territory, which has new rules and even a new form."
Strong competition
Although Barbera has seen an entire generation of filmmakers disappear due to old age or financial problems, many prominent veterans are nevertheless included in the competition on the Lido, such as the Italian director Marco Bellocchio, the Polish Jerzy Skolimowski and the Russian Aleksandr Sokurov.
US director Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich") comes with an animated feature, the Brit Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech") shows his latest film. The Canadian Atom Egoyan and the Israeli Amos Gitai are two more big names in the competition. Although no German director is part of the lineup, Germany was a co-producer on Sokurov's and Egoyan's films.
Atom Egoyan's film "Remember" is a German co-productionImage: Getty Images
Stars in the jury and on the red carpet
Mexican star director Alfonso Cuarón will be heading the jury. German actress Diane Kruger, Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski (who won this year an Oscar for "Ida") will be supporting him as members of the jury.
Kruger will be just one of many Hollywood stars walking the red carpet rolled out in front of the Festival Palace. Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kristen Stewart, Juliette Binoche, Anthony Hopkins and the young Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne all plan to be there too.
Political cinema also has its place in the program. For instance, a Ukrainian documentary, "Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom," by director Evgeny Afineevsky, is about the protests on Maidan Square.
Toronto vs. Venice
Just a few day after the oldest film festival in the world takes place, a Canadian rival will be rolling out its own red carpet: The Toronto Film Festival opens on September 10. The Canadian metropolis has recently become a major competitor in the festival circuit, and many North American studios choose to send their latest productions to Toronto instead of Venice.
Those who want to see films directed by Germans will also be better off in Canada. Toronto will present Roland Emmerich's latest blockbuster, "Stonewall," as well as the recent work of the Oscar prizewinner Florian Gallenberger, "Colonia."
Yet Venice doesn't need to worry too much: Nothing can rival with the architectural backdrop of this festival - and that's just one of the highlights of a rich program.
