Silver screen stars Brat Pitt and George Clooney opened this year’s
Venice International Film Festival with the world premiere of their latest
film, Burn After Reading, directed by 2008 Oscar winners, the Coen
brothers. The much-anticipated film, however, is not among the 21 films in the
competition.
In response to criticism over the lesser presence of Hollywood films competing in the
65th edition of the Venice film fest, festival
director, Marco Mueller, said that Hollywood’s ‘supporting’ role this
year was partly due to the 14-week writer’s strike, which put the brakes on
American filmmaking until its end last February.
With Tinsletown taking the back seat at this year’s film fest, running
from August 26 to September 6, the highly acclaimed competition has given way
to independent cinema and emerging international talents. In fact, the five
American films in competition are low-budget, ‘indie’ films, while other
countries with a strong presence are Japan, which boasts three movies
in contention, including two animated films, and Italy, which has four flicks
vying for the Golden Lion.
Italy’s
entries include Pupi Avati’s Il papà di
Giovanna (‘Giovanni’s Father’); Pappi
Corsicato’s Il seme della discordia (‘The Seed of Discord’); Chilean-Italian Marco Bechis’s Birdwatchers; and Turkish-Italian
director Ferzan Ozpetek’s Un giorno
perfetto (‘A Perfect Day’). The films by Opetez and Bechis have been
touted as favourites.
Praised by the fashion and film world, the much-anticipated documentary
on legendary Italian designer Valentino also premiered in Venice. Called Valentino: The
Last Emperor, the out-of-competition movie directed by Vanity Fair reporter
Matt Tyrnauer celebrates the life and career of the 75-year-old fashion icon.
Very pleased with the work, Valentino pronounced it his ‘authorised
biography’; Mueller said it was ‘the most fictionalised non-fiction film I have
seen lately.’
