Rarely in recent decades has the festival circuit been as disrupted as it has in the past 12 months. A confluence of local and global issues — from war to inflation, political unrest to societal shifts — have created a perfect storm for many of these vital cultural platforms, leading to funding shortfalls, staff losses, major PR headaches and in some cases cancellation. Amid shifts in consumer and industry behavior, there are also broader existential questions being asked about the role and potency of festivals.
Since last year’s Cannes, we’ve seen flashpoints or upheaval at Sundance, Berlin, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki, IDFA, El Gouna, Cairo, Busan, Odessa and others. Questions have been hanging over the likes of Venice and Toronto but both have made positive announcements in recent weeks: the former by re-upping Alberto Barbera, the latter by confirming a cash injection to bolster its market.
During this year’s turbulent Berlin Film Festival,...
Since last year’s Cannes, we’ve seen flashpoints or upheaval at Sundance, Berlin, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki, IDFA, El Gouna, Cairo, Busan, Odessa and others. Questions have been hanging over the likes of Venice and Toronto but both have made positive announcements in recent weeks: the former by re-upping Alberto Barbera, the latter by confirming a cash injection to bolster its market.
During this year’s turbulent Berlin Film Festival,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman and Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney’s Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes leads the new titles at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, with the ape adventure starting in over 650 sites.
Directed by Wes Ball, Kingdom is the fourth film since the Planet Of The Apes series reboot in 2011; and 10thPlanet Of The Apes film overall since the series began with Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 classic starring Charlton Heston.
Set 300 years after the events of 2017’s War For The Planet Of The Apes, Kingdom sees a young chimpanzee hunter embark on a journey with a human woman, to a dangerous holdout ruled by an ambitious bonobo monarch.
Directed by Wes Ball, Kingdom is the fourth film since the Planet Of The Apes series reboot in 2011; and 10thPlanet Of The Apes film overall since the series began with Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 classic starring Charlton Heston.
Set 300 years after the events of 2017’s War For The Planet Of The Apes, Kingdom sees a young chimpanzee hunter embark on a journey with a human woman, to a dangerous holdout ruled by an ambitious bonobo monarch.
- 5/10/2024
- ScreenDaily
Alberto Barbera has extended his contract with the Venice International Film Festival and will remain on as artistic director on the Lido through 2026.
The board of directors of La Biennale di Venezia, the umbrella organization that runs the Venice festival, approved the two-year contract extension, unveiling the decision on Friday.
In a statement, the board said in his time as festival head, Barbera had been successful in “discovering and launching new talents on the international stage, in spreading and advancing the culture of cinema, and in expanding audiences” at the world’s oldest film festival.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera and I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism, and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world. I am extremely pleased that La Biennale will continue down this path with him,...
The board of directors of La Biennale di Venezia, the umbrella organization that runs the Venice festival, approved the two-year contract extension, unveiling the decision on Friday.
In a statement, the board said in his time as festival head, Barbera had been successful in “discovering and launching new talents on the international stage, in spreading and advancing the culture of cinema, and in expanding audiences” at the world’s oldest film festival.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera and I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism, and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world. I am extremely pleased that La Biennale will continue down this path with him,...
- 5/10/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The board of directors of La Biennale di Venezia, which runs Venice Film Festival, has extended the contract of artistic director Alberto Barbera through the 2025 and 2026 festivals.
Barbera’s previous contract expired after this year’s edition, which will take place from August 28-September 7. He has been artistic director since 2012, and previously held the position from 1998 to 2001.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera and I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world,...
Barbera’s previous contract expired after this year’s edition, which will take place from August 28-September 7. He has been artistic director since 2012, and previously held the position from 1998 to 2001.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera and I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world,...
- 5/10/2024
- ScreenDaily
Alberto Barbera’s contract as the Artistic Director of the Venice Film Festival has been extended for an extra two years.
Barbera has been the Artistic Director of the Cinema Department of La Biennale di Venezia since 2012. He held the same position from 1998 to 2001.
Born in Biella in 1950, he took a Modern Literature degree from the Università di Torino with a concentration in Film History and Criticism. During that time, he began his collaboration with A.I.A.C.E. (the Italian Association of Friends of arthouse cinema) which he chaired from 1977 to 1989. From 1980 to 1983 he was a critic for the daily newspaper La Gazzetta del Popolo, and since 1982 he has been a member of the Journalists’ Union. He has written for many daily newspapers and periodicals, and collaborated with television and radio programs such as Cinemascoop (Rai 3), La lampada di Aladino (Rai –...
Barbera has been the Artistic Director of the Cinema Department of La Biennale di Venezia since 2012. He held the same position from 1998 to 2001.
Born in Biella in 1950, he took a Modern Literature degree from the Università di Torino with a concentration in Film History and Criticism. During that time, he began his collaboration with A.I.A.C.E. (the Italian Association of Friends of arthouse cinema) which he chaired from 1977 to 1989. From 1980 to 1983 he was a critic for the daily newspaper La Gazzetta del Popolo, and since 1982 he has been a member of the Journalists’ Union. He has written for many daily newspapers and periodicals, and collaborated with television and radio programs such as Cinemascoop (Rai 3), La lampada di Aladino (Rai –...
- 5/10/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Venice Film Festival Artistic Director Alberto Barbera, whose current mandate is due to expire after the upcoming 81st edition, has been renewed in the role for 2025 and 2026.
Parent body La Biennale di Venezia said its board of directors, chaired by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, had approved the extension of his mandate on the basis of his achievements in the role to date.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera and I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world. I am extremely pleased that La Biennale will continue down this path with him,” said Pietrangelo Buttafuoco.
The move ends speculation over Barbera’s future which had been up in the air, in part due to a changing political landscape in Italy and the recent appointment of Buttafuoco,...
Parent body La Biennale di Venezia said its board of directors, chaired by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, had approved the extension of his mandate on the basis of his achievements in the role to date.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera and I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world. I am extremely pleased that La Biennale will continue down this path with him,” said Pietrangelo Buttafuoco.
The move ends speculation over Barbera’s future which had been up in the air, in part due to a changing political landscape in Italy and the recent appointment of Buttafuoco,...
- 5/10/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Alberto Barbera is set to remain at the helm as artistic director of the Venice Film Festival through 2026 and possibly longer.
The board of directors of the fest’s parent organization, the Venice Biennale – chaired by new president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco – on Friday announced they have approved Barbera’s appointment as artistic director “for the years 2025 and 2026,” the Biennale announced in a statement.
The Biennale is basically extending Barbera’s current mandate, which expires after the upcoming 2024 edition, for two more years. This does not rule out the possibility that Barbera could subsequently get another full-fledged mandate and stay on board even longer.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera,” Buttafuoco said in a statement. “And I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world,...
The board of directors of the fest’s parent organization, the Venice Biennale – chaired by new president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco – on Friday announced they have approved Barbera’s appointment as artistic director “for the years 2025 and 2026,” the Biennale announced in a statement.
The Biennale is basically extending Barbera’s current mandate, which expires after the upcoming 2024 edition, for two more years. This does not rule out the possibility that Barbera could subsequently get another full-fledged mandate and stay on board even longer.
“I felt an immediate understanding with Alberto Barbera,” Buttafuoco said in a statement. “And I have great respect for the expertise, professionalism and passion he has demonstrated in the years that he has directed the Venice Film Festival, which have enhanced the prestige of the oldest film festival in the world,...
- 5/10/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Australian director of Gallipoli and Dead Poets Society praised by festival for his impact in Hollywood ‘while keeping his distance from the American movie industry’
Peter Weir, the Australian director and screenwriter behind The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society and Gallipoli, will receive a prestigious Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at this year’s Venice film festival.
“With a total of only 13 movies directed over the course of 40 years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of great directors of modern cinema,” said the festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, on Thursday.
Peter Weir, the Australian director and screenwriter behind The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society and Gallipoli, will receive a prestigious Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at this year’s Venice film festival.
“With a total of only 13 movies directed over the course of 40 years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of great directors of modern cinema,” said the festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, on Thursday.
- 5/10/2024
- by Michael Sun
- The Guardian - Film News
Peter Weir, the legendary Australian director of “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “The Year of Living Dangerously,” “Gallipoli,” “Witness,” “Dead Poets Society,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,” is getting some richly deserved recognition. Following his honorary Oscar in advance of the 2023 Academy Awards, he will now receiving the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from the Venice Film Festival this fall.
“With a total of only 13 movies directed over the course of 40 years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” said Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, in an official statement.
Weir has been nominated for six Academy Awards throughout his career — three times for Best Director, for “Witness,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander,” for which he also received a Best Picture nod, and once for Best Original Screenplay for “Green Card.
“With a total of only 13 movies directed over the course of 40 years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” said Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, in an official statement.
Weir has been nominated for six Academy Awards throughout his career — three times for Best Director, for “Witness,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander,” for which he also received a Best Picture nod, and once for Best Original Screenplay for “Green Card.
- 5/9/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Australian filmmaker Peter Weir will receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 81st Venice Film Festival (August 28-September 7).
The director and screenwriter is a six-time Oscar nominee for films including Dead Poets Society and The Truman Show, both of which premiered at Venice in 1989 and 1998 respectively.
“The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft. To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetimes work as a director is a considerable honour,” said Weir.
The filmmaker first rose to prominence in 1975 with Picnic At Hanging Rock, followed by The Last Wave...
The director and screenwriter is a six-time Oscar nominee for films including Dead Poets Society and The Truman Show, both of which premiered at Venice in 1989 and 1998 respectively.
“The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft. To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetimes work as a director is a considerable honour,” said Weir.
The filmmaker first rose to prominence in 1975 with Picnic At Hanging Rock, followed by The Last Wave...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Venice Film Festival will fete Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir with its honorary Golden Lion at its forthcoming 80th edition.
Accepting the honor, Weir said: “The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft. To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetime’s work as a director is a considerable honor.”
Born in August 1944, Weir was one of the pivotal figures in the Australian New Wave cinema of the 70s. He began his career in 1969 when he took a job with the government-funded Commonwealth Film Unit as a director. Weir struck out on his own in 1973 and directed his first feature film, the comic-horror The Cars That Ate Paris (1974), which he also wrote. He won an international audience with Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), followed by The Last Wave (1977), for which he also co-wrote the screenplay.
Accepting the honor, Weir said: “The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft. To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetime’s work as a director is a considerable honor.”
Born in August 1944, Weir was one of the pivotal figures in the Australian New Wave cinema of the 70s. He began his career in 1969 when he took a job with the government-funded Commonwealth Film Unit as a director. Weir struck out on his own in 1973 and directed his first feature film, the comic-horror The Cars That Ate Paris (1974), which he also wrote. He won an international audience with Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), followed by The Last Wave (1977), for which he also co-wrote the screenplay.
- 5/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The Venice Film Festival will honor Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, Master and Commander) with its Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 81st edition, running Aug. 28 to Sept 7.
The decision was made by the board of la Biennale di Venezia, based on a proposal made by festival director Alberto Barbera.
“The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft,” said Weir. “To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetime’s work as a director is a considerable honor.”
Said Barbera: “With a total of only 13 movies directed over the course of 40 years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema. At the end of the 1970s, he made a name for himself as the main man behind the rebirth of Australian film thanks to two movies,...
The decision was made by the board of la Biennale di Venezia, based on a proposal made by festival director Alberto Barbera.
“The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft,” said Weir. “To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetime’s work as a director is a considerable honor.”
Said Barbera: “With a total of only 13 movies directed over the course of 40 years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema. At the end of the 1970s, he made a name for himself as the main man behind the rebirth of Australian film thanks to two movies,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Venice Film Festival will honor Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir – whose body of work comprises “Dead Poets Society,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” – with its 2024 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
“With a total of only thirteen movies directed over the course of forty years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.
Barbera added that Weir made a name for himself at the end of the 1970s as the leading figure behind the rebirth of Australian cinema thanks to two movies: “The Cars That Ate Paris” (1974) and cult classic “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975). The international success of his following two films, “Gallipoli” and “The Year of Living Dangerously” then “opened Hollywood’s doors.”
“Weir combines reflections on personal themes and a need to...
“With a total of only thirteen movies directed over the course of forty years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.
Barbera added that Weir made a name for himself at the end of the 1970s as the leading figure behind the rebirth of Australian cinema thanks to two movies: “The Cars That Ate Paris” (1974) and cult classic “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975). The international success of his following two films, “Gallipoli” and “The Year of Living Dangerously” then “opened Hollywood’s doors.”
“Weir combines reflections on personal themes and a need to...
- 5/9/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
French actress Isabelle Huppert (Michael Haneke’s Elle, The Piano Teacher, La Cérémonie) will serve as the president of the international jury of the competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, which takes place Aug. 28-Sept. 7.
The jury will decide on the Golden Lion for best film, as well as other official awards.
The decision on the jury head was made by the board of directors of the Biennale di Venezia based on the recommendation of the director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera.
“There is a long and beautiful history between the festival and I,” Huppert said. “Becoming a privileged spectator is an honor. More than ever, cinema is a promise. The promise to escape, to disrupt, to surprise, to take a good look at the world, united in the differences of our tastes and ideas.”
Barbera lauded Huppert as “an immense actress, demanding, curious and of great generosity.
The jury will decide on the Golden Lion for best film, as well as other official awards.
The decision on the jury head was made by the board of directors of the Biennale di Venezia based on the recommendation of the director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera.
“There is a long and beautiful history between the festival and I,” Huppert said. “Becoming a privileged spectator is an honor. More than ever, cinema is a promise. The promise to escape, to disrupt, to surprise, to take a good look at the world, united in the differences of our tastes and ideas.”
Barbera lauded Huppert as “an immense actress, demanding, curious and of great generosity.
- 5/8/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
French actor Isabelle Huppert has been named president of the international competition jury at the 81st Venice Film Festival.
The prolific Huppert was Oscar-nominated for her performance in 2016 crime drama Elle.
“There is a long and beautiful history between the Festival and I,” said Huppert. ”Becoming a privileged spectator is an honour. More than ever, cinema is a promise. The promise to escape, to disrupt, to surprise, to take a good look at the world, united in the differences of our tastes and ideas.”
Huppert has twice won the Coppa Volpi for best actress at Venice, in 1988 for Story Of Women...
The prolific Huppert was Oscar-nominated for her performance in 2016 crime drama Elle.
“There is a long and beautiful history between the Festival and I,” said Huppert. ”Becoming a privileged spectator is an honour. More than ever, cinema is a promise. The promise to escape, to disrupt, to surprise, to take a good look at the world, united in the differences of our tastes and ideas.”
Huppert has twice won the Coppa Volpi for best actress at Venice, in 1988 for Story Of Women...
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Isabelle Huppert has been named as jury president for the main competition of the 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival, running from 28 August to 7 September 2024.
The decision was made by the Board of Directors of parent body the Biennale di Venezia, who confirmed the recommendation of Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera.
“There is a long and beautiful history between the Festival and I. Becoming a privileged spectator is an honor. More than ever, cinema is a promise. The promise to escape, to disrupt, to surprise, to take a good look at the world, united in the differences of our tastes and ideas,” said Huppert on acknowledging the honor.
Huppert has a long relationship with the Venice Film Festival. She has won its Coppa Volpi for best actress twice with Story of Women (1988) and La Cérémonie (1995). In 2005, she was honoured with a Special Golden Lion for the Overall...
The decision was made by the Board of Directors of parent body the Biennale di Venezia, who confirmed the recommendation of Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera.
“There is a long and beautiful history between the Festival and I. Becoming a privileged spectator is an honor. More than ever, cinema is a promise. The promise to escape, to disrupt, to surprise, to take a good look at the world, united in the differences of our tastes and ideas,” said Huppert on acknowledging the honor.
Huppert has a long relationship with the Venice Film Festival. She has won its Coppa Volpi for best actress twice with Story of Women (1988) and La Cérémonie (1995). In 2005, she was honoured with a Special Golden Lion for the Overall...
- 5/8/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Isabelle Huppert will preside over the main jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival.
The revered French actor has a longstanding rapport with the Lido, having won Venice’s
Coppa Volpi for best actress twice, first with “Story of Women” in 1988, and subsequently with “La Cérémonie” in 1995, both directed by Claude Chabrol.
Huppert – who has made a total of eight films with Chabrol – also has a close bond with the Cannes Film Festival where in 1978 she won the best actress statuette for Chabrol’s “Violette.” In 2001, Huppert won her second best actress award at Cannes for her tour-de-force performance as a sado-masochistic music professor in Michael Haneke’s “The Piano.” In 2005, Huppert was honored by Venice with a Special Golden Lion for her titular role in “Gabrielle,” Patrice Chéreau’s costume drama about an imploded marriage.
In 2017 she gained her first Academy Award nomination for her role as a rape...
The revered French actor has a longstanding rapport with the Lido, having won Venice’s
Coppa Volpi for best actress twice, first with “Story of Women” in 1988, and subsequently with “La Cérémonie” in 1995, both directed by Claude Chabrol.
Huppert – who has made a total of eight films with Chabrol – also has a close bond with the Cannes Film Festival where in 1978 she won the best actress statuette for Chabrol’s “Violette.” In 2001, Huppert won her second best actress award at Cannes for her tour-de-force performance as a sado-masochistic music professor in Michael Haneke’s “The Piano.” In 2005, Huppert was honored by Venice with a Special Golden Lion for her titular role in “Gabrielle,” Patrice Chéreau’s costume drama about an imploded marriage.
In 2017 she gained her first Academy Award nomination for her role as a rape...
- 5/8/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
After reaping the rewards of a protracted growth spurt, Italy’s film industry is facing a forced slowdown as the country’s right-wing government dithers with modifications they plan to make to several key regulations, most significantly to the country’s now stalled tax incentives for film and TV production.
At a packed protest event held earlier this month in Rome’s Cinema Adriano multiplex, industry figures from all sectors – including producers, writers, actors and big-name directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Marco Bellocchio – lashed out against having to wait endlessly for the government to approve new guidelines so production companies can apply for the 40% tax credits that basically drive the business. Some are also concerned that their projects might end up not complying with still murky new eligibility criteria.
“We are waiting for the new regulatory framework, and more importantly we need to know how much money the government will grant,...
At a packed protest event held earlier this month in Rome’s Cinema Adriano multiplex, industry figures from all sectors – including producers, writers, actors and big-name directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Marco Bellocchio – lashed out against having to wait endlessly for the government to approve new guidelines so production companies can apply for the 40% tax credits that basically drive the business. Some are also concerned that their projects might end up not complying with still murky new eligibility criteria.
“We are waiting for the new regulatory framework, and more importantly we need to know how much money the government will grant,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
“The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore and Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera play alternate versions of themselves on the final episode of the Italian adaptation of “Call My Agent,” which was released this weekend on pay-tv Sky Italia.
Shot in September 2023, during the real Venice event, the show sees Impacciatore play the fest’s master of ceremonies who, wearing a red gown, disembarks with her agent from a motorboat on the Lido at the Excelsior Hotel dock, greeted by throngs of fans and paparazzi. She then starts acting a bit strange, speaking to Barbera in English instead of Italian and almost falling into the lagoon, as seen in the above exclusive subtitled clip.
Impacciatore, who played Valentina, the hotel manager in the Sicily-set second season of “White Lotus,” was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the hit HBO show which also gave her domestic career a nice boost.
Shot in September 2023, during the real Venice event, the show sees Impacciatore play the fest’s master of ceremonies who, wearing a red gown, disembarks with her agent from a motorboat on the Lido at the Excelsior Hotel dock, greeted by throngs of fans and paparazzi. She then starts acting a bit strange, speaking to Barbera in English instead of Italian and almost falling into the lagoon, as seen in the above exclusive subtitled clip.
Impacciatore, who played Valentina, the hotel manager in the Sicily-set second season of “White Lotus,” was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the hit HBO show which also gave her domestic career a nice boost.
- 4/10/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Scarlett Johansson has been a star in a wide variety of films over the past thirty years. She had a prosperous early career, starring in films such as Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World (2001). However, she also had the unpleasant experience of hearing fans boo one of her career’s best films.
Yes, we are discussing Under the Skin. Despite the negative feedback, the talented actress did not let it bring her down. Instead, she sought sound advice that helped her keep things in perspective. Her career has seen critical and commercial peaks and troughs over the last 20 years, some of which are not necessarily aligned.
Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin
In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, Johansson stated that she would rather experience both the highs and lows of success and failure than “tepid” mediocrity. The audience “booed” the 2013 flick, which made...
Yes, we are discussing Under the Skin. Despite the negative feedback, the talented actress did not let it bring her down. Instead, she sought sound advice that helped her keep things in perspective. Her career has seen critical and commercial peaks and troughs over the last 20 years, some of which are not necessarily aligned.
Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin
In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, Johansson stated that she would rather experience both the highs and lows of success and failure than “tepid” mediocrity. The audience “booed” the 2013 flick, which made...
- 2/26/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
For Italian conductor Beatrice Venezi, 2024 kicked off on a decidedly sour note.
On New Year’s Eve the baton-wielding Venezi, a friend of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was heckled at the Opéra de Nice by French anti-fascist protesters as she took to the podium.
The incident reflected tensions rippling through European entertainment industry circles as far-right parties sweep to power in Italy and the Netherlands and gain ground across the EU.
Italy took a sharp turn to the right in 2022, when Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, emerged the winner in the national elections. Since then her right-wing camp, which denies accusations of nostalgia for fascism, has moved to hold more sway within state-controlled media and cultural institutions such as broadcaster Rai, the Centro Sperimentale film school and the Biennale, the Venice Film Festival’s parent organization.
Scrutiny is being directed at Venezi, an adviser to Meloni-appointed culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
On New Year’s Eve the baton-wielding Venezi, a friend of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was heckled at the Opéra de Nice by French anti-fascist protesters as she took to the podium.
The incident reflected tensions rippling through European entertainment industry circles as far-right parties sweep to power in Italy and the Netherlands and gain ground across the EU.
Italy took a sharp turn to the right in 2022, when Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, emerged the winner in the national elections. Since then her right-wing camp, which denies accusations of nostalgia for fascism, has moved to hold more sway within state-controlled media and cultural institutions such as broadcaster Rai, the Centro Sperimentale film school and the Biennale, the Venice Film Festival’s parent organization.
Scrutiny is being directed at Venezi, an adviser to Meloni-appointed culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
- 2/2/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Renowned French director Luc Besson, director of Léon and The Fifth Element is releasing a new thriller next year. Briarcliff Entertainment will release Luc Besson’s thriller DogMan in select theatres on March 15, 2024, and will expand on March 22, 2024. The film, written and directed by Besson, had its World Premiere at the Venice FIlm Festival and stars Caleb Landry Jones, Jojo T. Gibbs and Christopher Denham.
The plot synopsis from Briarcliff Entertainment reads,
“In DogMan, having just been arrested, Douglas opens his heart to tell the moving story of his life. As a survivor of childhood trauma, with a violent father who forces him to live in the family kennel, he develops a bond with dogs that defies understanding. Out of this hell, he grows to discover love, theatre, and cabaret, but also the injustice and disillusionment of the human world. In a life that’s been broken a thousand times,...
The plot synopsis from Briarcliff Entertainment reads,
“In DogMan, having just been arrested, Douglas opens his heart to tell the moving story of his life. As a survivor of childhood trauma, with a violent father who forces him to live in the family kennel, he develops a bond with dogs that defies understanding. Out of this hell, he grows to discover love, theatre, and cabaret, but also the injustice and disillusionment of the human world. In a life that’s been broken a thousand times,...
- 12/19/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
This year’s Marrakech International Film Festival opened with a testament to art.
Two months after a devastating earthquake, and in light of the ever-more heart-wrenching news coming out of the Middle East, the film showcase kicked off with a humanist rallying cry voiced by jury president Jessica Chastain.
“In the weeks leading up to the festival, we were not sure that we would even be able to be here,” Chastain said at the Marrakech opening ceremony on Friday. “The world we share is shattered and divided. And so I have immense gratitude… [that] throughout history, art has been used as an accessible tool for communication, raising awareness about social issues and affecting positive change.”
Indeed, now celebrating its 20th edition, the Moroccan event has always sought to shine a celebratory light, emphasizing art and international communion, especially in dark times. Upon taking the stage on Friday, Chastain echoed those overarching sentiments.
Two months after a devastating earthquake, and in light of the ever-more heart-wrenching news coming out of the Middle East, the film showcase kicked off with a humanist rallying cry voiced by jury president Jessica Chastain.
“In the weeks leading up to the festival, we were not sure that we would even be able to be here,” Chastain said at the Marrakech opening ceremony on Friday. “The world we share is shattered and divided. And so I have immense gratitude… [that] throughout history, art has been used as an accessible tool for communication, raising awareness about social issues and affecting positive change.”
Indeed, now celebrating its 20th edition, the Moroccan event has always sought to shine a celebratory light, emphasizing art and international communion, especially in dark times. Upon taking the stage on Friday, Chastain echoed those overarching sentiments.
- 11/24/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
News of the death of Celluloid Dreams CEO Hengameh Panahi has sparked an outpouring of admiration and tributes from the independent film community.
Panahi, a pivotal figure in the global art house scene, died Nov. 5, aged 67. In her decades in the business — as a producer, co-financier and sales agent — Panahi introduced the world to international auteurs from Iran (Jafar Panahi, Marjane Satrapi), Europe (Jacques Audiard, François Ozon, Gaspar Noé, Marco Bellocchio, Aleksandr Sokurov, the Dardenne brothers) and across Asia (Takeshi Kitano, Naomi Kawase, Jia Zanghke, Hirokazu Kore-eda).
“She took films that were challenging, that were difficult to make, to sell, to promote, and she fought for them,” says Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) who knew and worked with Panahi for more than 30 years. “She was a unique part of the film ecosystem. She was really inspirational, with the films that she enabled to be made, and seen.”
Celluloid Dreams,...
Panahi, a pivotal figure in the global art house scene, died Nov. 5, aged 67. In her decades in the business — as a producer, co-financier and sales agent — Panahi introduced the world to international auteurs from Iran (Jafar Panahi, Marjane Satrapi), Europe (Jacques Audiard, François Ozon, Gaspar Noé, Marco Bellocchio, Aleksandr Sokurov, the Dardenne brothers) and across Asia (Takeshi Kitano, Naomi Kawase, Jia Zanghke, Hirokazu Kore-eda).
“She took films that were challenging, that were difficult to make, to sell, to promote, and she fought for them,” says Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) who knew and worked with Panahi for more than 30 years. “She was a unique part of the film ecosystem. She was really inspirational, with the films that she enabled to be made, and seen.”
Celluloid Dreams,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Writer nominated by Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
Right-wing journalist and writer Pietrangelo Buttafuoco has been nominated by Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano to take over as chairman of the Venice Biennale Foundation which runs the Venice Film Festival.
He will replace Roberto Cicutto when the latter’s term ends in March. Buttafuoco’s nomination requires parliamentary approval but is regarded as a formality.
Italian newswire Ansa described Buttafuoco as “one of Italy’s top public intellectuals and a practising Muslim” and described him as a far-right activist in his youth like Italian premier Giorgia Meloni who, like her, has...
Right-wing journalist and writer Pietrangelo Buttafuoco has been nominated by Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano to take over as chairman of the Venice Biennale Foundation which runs the Venice Film Festival.
He will replace Roberto Cicutto when the latter’s term ends in March. Buttafuoco’s nomination requires parliamentary approval but is regarded as a formality.
Italian newswire Ansa described Buttafuoco as “one of Italy’s top public intellectuals and a practising Muslim” and described him as a far-right activist in his youth like Italian premier Giorgia Meloni who, like her, has...
- 10/27/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Venice Biennale Chief Roberto Cicutto Set to Be Replaced by Right-Wing Writer Pietrangelo Buttafuoco
Italy’s culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has designated Italian journalist and writer Pietrangelo Buttafuoco as the new president of the Venice Biennale, the foundation that oversees the Venice Film Festival.
Buttafuoco, an openly right-wing member of Italy’s cultural establishment known to be an eclectic thinker, is now set to replace former film producer Roberto Cicutto at the Biennale’s helm when Cicutto’s four-year mandate expires in March 2024. Buttafuoco’s appointment still needs to be ratified by the culture commissions of Italy’s chamber of deputies and senate, but this is considered a mere formality.
Besides the film festival, the Venice Biennale foundation oversees other renowned events in the spheres of visual arts, music, architecture, dance and theater, making it one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions.
Buttafuoco taking the Biennale reins is not expected to immediately impact management of the Venice Film Festival, since its artistic...
Buttafuoco, an openly right-wing member of Italy’s cultural establishment known to be an eclectic thinker, is now set to replace former film producer Roberto Cicutto at the Biennale’s helm when Cicutto’s four-year mandate expires in March 2024. Buttafuoco’s appointment still needs to be ratified by the culture commissions of Italy’s chamber of deputies and senate, but this is considered a mere formality.
Besides the film festival, the Venice Biennale foundation oversees other renowned events in the spheres of visual arts, music, architecture, dance and theater, making it one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions.
Buttafuoco taking the Biennale reins is not expected to immediately impact management of the Venice Film Festival, since its artistic...
- 10/27/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
From the strikes to awards contenders and the inclusion of films by controversial directors.
The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival wrapped on September 9 with Yorgos Lanthimos’ acclaimed Poor Things taking the Golden Lion for best film.
Screen considers the big talking points from an 11-day festival marathon, which opened with Edoardo De Angelis’ Commandante and closed with J.A. Bayona’s Society Of The Snow.
The strikes were the main talking point
The challenges keep on coming for festival directors. First, they had to navigate Covid restrictions, now it is the ongoing Hollywood strikes. Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera...
The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival wrapped on September 9 with Yorgos Lanthimos’ acclaimed Poor Things taking the Golden Lion for best film.
Screen considers the big talking points from an 11-day festival marathon, which opened with Edoardo De Angelis’ Commandante and closed with J.A. Bayona’s Society Of The Snow.
The strikes were the main talking point
The challenges keep on coming for festival directors. First, they had to navigate Covid restrictions, now it is the ongoing Hollywood strikes. Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera...
- 9/12/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Emmy-nominated “The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore will play the Venice Film Festival’s master of ceremonies in the upcoming second season of the Italian version of “Call My Agent,” which will also feature a cameo by Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Impacciatore, wearing a red gown, disembarked from a water taxi at the Excelsior Hotel pier on the Venice Lido on Saturday welcomed by Barbera, as cameras rolled for a key scene in the show. Actors playing photographers for the scene and also real paparazzi snapped away upon her arrival.
“’Call My Agent – Italia’ is a true love letter to cinema, its rituals and its protagonists,” Nils Hartmann, EVP of Sky Studios for Italy and Germany, said in a statement. “It is therefore a truly great emotion, and at the same time a great motive of pride for us, to be able to shoot the second season of such...
Impacciatore, wearing a red gown, disembarked from a water taxi at the Excelsior Hotel pier on the Venice Lido on Saturday welcomed by Barbera, as cameras rolled for a key scene in the show. Actors playing photographers for the scene and also real paparazzi snapped away upon her arrival.
“’Call My Agent – Italia’ is a true love letter to cinema, its rituals and its protagonists,” Nils Hartmann, EVP of Sky Studios for Italy and Germany, said in a statement. “It is therefore a truly great emotion, and at the same time a great motive of pride for us, to be able to shoot the second season of such...
- 9/11/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Attending a major film festival is soul-draining and exhilarating in equal measure, with days bookended by crack-of-dawn P&i screenings and until-dawn 2 a.m. parties. At this year’s 80th Venice Film Festival, which unfolds on the former plague quarantine island of the Lido that’s a water taxi away from the main city, things were different.
There were no paparazzi shots of “Maestro” director and star Bradley Cooper taking those water taxis because he didn’t attend. Ditto Zendaya, whose would-be opening-night title “Challengers” was removed from the lineup, or Emma Stone for “Poor Things.” The ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes and the work stoppage orders prevented talent without an interim agreement from attending or promoting their films, an idea that initially seemed at odds with film festivals and Venice — a city that seems to float on glamour as much as the Adriatic Sea — in particular.
And certainly: The party scene was less lively,...
There were no paparazzi shots of “Maestro” director and star Bradley Cooper taking those water taxis because he didn’t attend. Ditto Zendaya, whose would-be opening-night title “Challengers” was removed from the lineup, or Emma Stone for “Poor Things.” The ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes and the work stoppage orders prevented talent without an interim agreement from attending or promoting their films, an idea that initially seemed at odds with film festivals and Venice — a city that seems to float on glamour as much as the Adriatic Sea — in particular.
And certainly: The party scene was less lively,...
- 9/9/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Maestro, starring and directed by Bradley Cooper, is set to close the 37th AFI Fest next month. The Leonard Bernstein biopic also starring Carey Mulligan will put a bow on the annual event with a red carpet gala Sunday, October 29, at the Tcl Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The Netflix film’s North American premiere on October 2 will come a month after its world premiere at Venice, where the film got an extended ovation. Cooper’s directorial follow-up to A Star Is Born, Maestro focuses on West Side Story composer Bernstein’s decades-long relationship with his wife, Felicia (Mulligan).
Related: ‘Maestro’ Venice Film Festival Premiere Photo Gallery
The cast also includes Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke and Sarah Silverman, and Cooper also produces along with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger. Cooper and Josh Singer penned the screenplay.
“Maestro displays Bradley Cooper’s symphony of talent...
The Netflix film’s North American premiere on October 2 will come a month after its world premiere at Venice, where the film got an extended ovation. Cooper’s directorial follow-up to A Star Is Born, Maestro focuses on West Side Story composer Bernstein’s decades-long relationship with his wife, Felicia (Mulligan).
Related: ‘Maestro’ Venice Film Festival Premiere Photo Gallery
The cast also includes Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke and Sarah Silverman, and Cooper also produces along with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger. Cooper and Josh Singer penned the screenplay.
“Maestro displays Bradley Cooper’s symphony of talent...
- 9/7/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Ava DuVernay’s latest film, “Origin,” received a warm welcome at Venice Film Festival on Wednesday night, where it premiered to a five-minute and 46-second standing ovation.
The drama, which is an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste: The Origin of Our Discontent,” left many audience members in tears as it weaved together Wilkerson’s own life story with harrowing depictions of the Holocaust, slavery and India’s caste system.
The audience began to clap during the film’s several-minute acting credits sequence and continued as the lights came on. While the crowd cheered, DuVernay couldn’t stop smiling and encouraged the crew members with her to share in the spotlight. “Thank you,” DuVernay mouthed over and over before sharing a hug with Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera.
The film stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood,...
The drama, which is an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste: The Origin of Our Discontent,” left many audience members in tears as it weaved together Wilkerson’s own life story with harrowing depictions of the Holocaust, slavery and India’s caste system.
The audience began to clap during the film’s several-minute acting credits sequence and continued as the lights came on. While the crowd cheered, DuVernay couldn’t stop smiling and encouraged the crew members with her to share in the spotlight. “Thank you,” DuVernay mouthed over and over before sharing a hug with Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera.
The film stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Republic Pictures President Dan Cohen and producer Annabelle Dunne were among the main representatives of William Friedkin’s last film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial at its posthumous world premiere at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend.
Taking place less than a month after Friedkin died at the age of 87 on August 7, it was an emotional night for both.
Alongside tributes from this year’s jury president Damien Chazelle and Venice director Alberto Barbera, Dunne took to the stage to share anecdotes, including how Guillermo del Toro and J.J. Abrams became involved as back-up directors after Friedkin’s age made it impossible to secure a completion bond.
Deadline caught up with the pair on the terrace of the Venice Lido’s Excelsior Hotel the next day, ahead of a screening of Friedkin’s The Exorcist in Venice Classics.
“It was really emotional for everybody. It was important to us that...
Taking place less than a month after Friedkin died at the age of 87 on August 7, it was an emotional night for both.
Alongside tributes from this year’s jury president Damien Chazelle and Venice director Alberto Barbera, Dunne took to the stage to share anecdotes, including how Guillermo del Toro and J.J. Abrams became involved as back-up directors after Friedkin’s age made it impossible to secure a completion bond.
Deadline caught up with the pair on the terrace of the Venice Lido’s Excelsior Hotel the next day, ahead of a screening of Friedkin’s The Exorcist in Venice Classics.
“It was really emotional for everybody. It was important to us that...
- 9/6/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“There has been a lack of respect towards Polanski,” said Barbera of the overwhelmingly negative reviews of his film.
Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, has elaborated on his controversial selection of Roman Polanski’s The Palace after he revealed he himself told the director it was “not completely resolved” and in the face of generally excoriating reviews of the film.
Barbera has faced criticism for including the film, which is playing out of competition in official selection.
As Polanksi has admitted to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in the US in 1977 he is unable...
Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, has elaborated on his controversial selection of Roman Polanski’s The Palace after he revealed he himself told the director it was “not completely resolved” and in the face of generally excoriating reviews of the film.
Barbera has faced criticism for including the film, which is playing out of competition in official selection.
As Polanksi has admitted to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in the US in 1977 he is unable...
- 9/6/2023
- by Alina Trabattoni
- ScreenDaily
“There has been a lack of respect towards Polanski,” said Barbera of the overwhelmingly negative reviews of his film.
Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, has elaborated on his controversial selection of Roman Polanski’s The Palace after he revealed he himself told the director it was “not completely resolved” and in the face of generally excoriating reviews of the film.
Barbera has faced criticism for including the film, which is playing out of competition in official selection. As Polanksi has admitted to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in the US in 1977 he is unable...
Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, has elaborated on his controversial selection of Roman Polanski’s The Palace after he revealed he himself told the director it was “not completely resolved” and in the face of generally excoriating reviews of the film.
Barbera has faced criticism for including the film, which is playing out of competition in official selection. As Polanksi has admitted to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in the US in 1977 he is unable...
- 9/6/2023
- by Alina Trabattoni
- ScreenDaily
With 12 reviews so far, Roman Polanski’s latest film, “The Palace,” currently sits at a horrendous 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Polanski hasn’t really had a hit film in a very long time and has also been at the center of controversy for decades, but a 0% is still really rough, with some reviews calling it the worst movie of the year. But somehow, “The Palace” had a massive debut at the Venice Film Festival, where the festival director Alberto Barbera defended the film’s inclusion despite the filmmaker’s aforementioned controversy.
Continue reading Venice Director Admits Roman Polanski’s ‘The Palace’ Is A “Weak” Film But Says Negative Reviews Were Too “Mean” at The Playlist.
Continue reading Venice Director Admits Roman Polanski’s ‘The Palace’ Is A “Weak” Film But Says Negative Reviews Were Too “Mean” at The Playlist.
- 9/5/2023
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Comandante.Beyond the Venice Film Festival's habitual paucity of female filmmakers, the most striking aspect of this year’s lineup was its astounding number of biopics. Granted, the genre has always been a staple of the fest, which under artistic director Alberto Barbera has effectively metastasized into a launchpad for Hollywood’s awards race. But the inclusion of so many in its eightieth edition was nonetheless remarkable. The official competition alone was home to six—among them big studio projects like Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, Michael Mann’s Ferrari—to say nothing of all those slotted in the parallel sidebars, from Quentin Dupieux’s fittingly surrealist Daaaaaali! to Neo Sora’s Ryuichi Sakamoto—Opus. Beyond the industry’s flirtations with the genre for its bona fide commercial potential, what accounts for our ongoing fascination with biopics is perhaps their promises of identification and revelation: in charting the lives of extraordinary figures,...
- 9/5/2023
- MUBI
“Judge the art, not the artist.” That is the mantra we hear each and every time someone in the entertainment world is accused of heinous behavior, and it’s one that was repeated by artistic director Alberto Barbera prior to this year’s Venice Film Festival.
In an interview with The Guardian, Barbera discussed his decision to include films by Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and Luc Besson in the 2023 festival program — Polanski’s The Palace, a class comedy about a dinner party at a luxury Swiss hotel on the eve...
In an interview with The Guardian, Barbera discussed his decision to include films by Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and Luc Besson in the 2023 festival program — Polanski’s The Palace, a class comedy about a dinner party at a luxury Swiss hotel on the eve...
- 9/5/2023
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
When Venice head Alberto Barbera announced his competition lineup in July, he confessed that he and his selection team were surprised to see one submission in their database: a feature project by Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi.
Hamaguchi had quietly returned to filmmaking following the international success of his last two features, Drive My Car, which won best screenplay at Cannes before winning the best international feature film Oscar, and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, silver bear winner at Berlin.
The final product is Evil Does Not Exist, an enigmatic feature screening this evening on the Lido.
Set deep in the forest of a rural Japanese village close to Tokyo, the pic follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who, like generations before them, live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near...
Hamaguchi had quietly returned to filmmaking following the international success of his last two features, Drive My Car, which won best screenplay at Cannes before winning the best international feature film Oscar, and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, silver bear winner at Berlin.
The final product is Evil Does Not Exist, an enigmatic feature screening this evening on the Lido.
Set deep in the forest of a rural Japanese village close to Tokyo, the pic follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who, like generations before them, live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near...
- 9/4/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera is adamant about his decision to place six Italian movies in this year’s 23-title festival lineup. “Nobody accused the French of chauvinism because they had seven French films in competition in Cannes this year,” Barbera quipped to a snarky Italian reporter when the Venice lineup was announced in July, though he did concede, “It’s true that in the past I have not done this.” Indeed, Barbera’s previous limit on Italian movies in competition for the Golden Lion was five titles last year, which some local critics considered a stretch.
More importantly, the Venice chief pointed out that he presently sees Cinema Italiano at a particularly favorable juncture largely thanks to the fact that Italians are making movies with bigger budgets, “which means greater quality and the ability to compete in international markets, and to travel beyond our borders,” he said.
More importantly, the Venice chief pointed out that he presently sees Cinema Italiano at a particularly favorable juncture largely thanks to the fact that Italians are making movies with bigger budgets, “which means greater quality and the ability to compete in international markets, and to travel beyond our borders,” he said.
- 9/4/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Woody Allen met the international press at the Venice Film Festival on Monday to support his 50th film as a director, Coup de Chance. Premiering out of competition, Coup de Chance is about the important role chance and luck play in our lives. It is Allen’s first feature told entirely in French, with a cast of all French stars, including Lou de Laage, Valerie Lemercier, Melvil Poupaud and Niels Schneider.
Early in the Venice press conference, Allen was asked to reflect on the role luck — or the absence of it — has played in his own life.
“I’ve been very, very lucky my whole life,” Allen said. “I had two loving parents. I have good friends. I have a wonderful wife and marriage and children — and I’ve never been in the hospital. I’ve never had anything terrible happen to me.”
He continued: “And I’ve had — over...
Early in the Venice press conference, Allen was asked to reflect on the role luck — or the absence of it — has played in his own life.
“I’ve been very, very lucky my whole life,” Allen said. “I had two loving parents. I have good friends. I have a wonderful wife and marriage and children — and I’ve never been in the hospital. I’ve never had anything terrible happen to me.”
He continued: “And I’ve had — over...
- 9/4/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski and Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Damien Chazelle paid tribute to late great director William Friedkin on Sunday in a moving speech at the Venice Film Festival where Friedkin’s last film “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” premiered out-of-competition to warm applause.
Friedkin, who died on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles at age 87, completed the film – which stars Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Commander Queeg who stands trial for mutiny for taking command from a ship captain he feels is acting in a mentally unstable way that is endangering both the ship and its crew – shortly before passing,
“When I first became aware of the name Billy Friedkin I was a child, and the name itself filled me with fear,” said Chazelle, who is presiding over this year’s Venice jury.
“I probably had ‘The Exorcist’ in my mind. I hadn’t see the film yet, but I’d seen the letters written in that typeface, and the sound...
Friedkin, who died on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles at age 87, completed the film – which stars Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Commander Queeg who stands trial for mutiny for taking command from a ship captain he feels is acting in a mentally unstable way that is endangering both the ship and its crew – shortly before passing,
“When I first became aware of the name Billy Friedkin I was a child, and the name itself filled me with fear,” said Chazelle, who is presiding over this year’s Venice jury.
“I probably had ‘The Exorcist’ in my mind. I hadn’t see the film yet, but I’d seen the letters written in that typeface, and the sound...
- 9/3/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera is appreciated by many in the film and media industries not only for having cemented Venice as a must-attend blue-ribbon festival, but also for his candour.
As we do every year, Deadline sat down with Barbera at the festival’s mid-point to discuss a lineup that has already wowed and frustrated audiences and which is as rich in off-screen sub-plots as any I can remember.
We started out by discussing how the rhythm of the festival has changed over the years, both for media and for him and his team…
Deadline: I know this is the crunch time for you. It’s the stage of the festival when those covering it and those organizing it are feeling the pinch of the late nights and heavy workload. The way we cover festivals has changed so much due to the proliferation of video, social media and the sheer content volume…...
As we do every year, Deadline sat down with Barbera at the festival’s mid-point to discuss a lineup that has already wowed and frustrated audiences and which is as rich in off-screen sub-plots as any I can remember.
We started out by discussing how the rhythm of the festival has changed over the years, both for media and for him and his team…
Deadline: I know this is the crunch time for you. It’s the stage of the festival when those covering it and those organizing it are feeling the pinch of the late nights and heavy workload. The way we cover festivals has changed so much due to the proliferation of video, social media and the sheer content volume…...
- 9/3/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
For all the major films from established, auteur directors in the 2023 Venice Film Festival’s main competition (David Fincher’s The Killer, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, Sofia Coppela’s Priscilla and Michael Mann’s Ferrari, to name just a few), when he made the official lineup announcement on July 31, festival director Alberto Barbera reserved his lengthiest praise for a small film from Germany.
So enthused was Barbera for Timm Kröger’s second feature The Theory of Everything — a black-and-white Hitchcockian melodrama set in a 5-star hotel in the Swiss Alps (and a “kind of” sequel to his 2014 debut The Council of Birds) — that he claimed it was one of the very first films selected to compete for this year’s Golden Lion.
“It was really wonderful what he said, and he really described the film in a lovely way,” says Kröger, speaking ahead of The Theory of Everything’s world...
So enthused was Barbera for Timm Kröger’s second feature The Theory of Everything — a black-and-white Hitchcockian melodrama set in a 5-star hotel in the Swiss Alps (and a “kind of” sequel to his 2014 debut The Council of Birds) — that he claimed it was one of the very first films selected to compete for this year’s Golden Lion.
“It was really wonderful what he said, and he really described the film in a lovely way,” says Kröger, speaking ahead of The Theory of Everything’s world...
- 9/3/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Roman Polanski’s black comedy “The Palace” was given a tepid three-minutes of applause when it world premiered in the Palazzo del Cinema’s Sala Grande on Saturday night.
Producer Luca Barbareschi, French star Fanny Ardant and other key cast members including German actor Oliver Masucci (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”), Portugal’s Joaquim de Almeida and Italy’s Fortunato Cerlino (”Gomorrah”) stood up and took a bow, but the audience’s response seemed to be more polite than exited, though there were occasional bursts of laughter during the screening.
Before the film’s premiere “The Palace” set designer Tonino Zera received Venice’s Campari Passion for Film prize from artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Polanski directed the black comedy from a screenplay he wrote alongside Jerzy Skolimowski and Ewa Piaskowska. “The Palace” takes place during New Year’s Eve in 1999, when a dinner party at Switzerland’s Gstaad Palace hotel takes an unexpected turn.
Producer Luca Barbareschi, French star Fanny Ardant and other key cast members including German actor Oliver Masucci (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”), Portugal’s Joaquim de Almeida and Italy’s Fortunato Cerlino (”Gomorrah”) stood up and took a bow, but the audience’s response seemed to be more polite than exited, though there were occasional bursts of laughter during the screening.
Before the film’s premiere “The Palace” set designer Tonino Zera received Venice’s Campari Passion for Film prize from artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Polanski directed the black comedy from a screenplay he wrote alongside Jerzy Skolimowski and Ewa Piaskowska. “The Palace” takes place during New Year’s Eve in 1999, when a dinner party at Switzerland’s Gstaad Palace hotel takes an unexpected turn.
- 9/2/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli and Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Roman Polanski’s Venice Film Festival feature The Palace received a 3 minute ovation tonight at its world premiere screening.
The Palace unfolds against the backdrop of Switzerland’s luxury Gstaad Palace hotel and revolves around the chasm between its ultra-rich clients and those who serve them in the lead-up to a lavish New Year Party on the eve of 2000.
Featuring Mickey Rourke, Fanny Ardant and John Cleese in the ensemble cast, the film took inspiration from Polanski’s own stays at the Gstaad Palace. He wrote the screenplay with Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski and producer Ewa Piaskowska. Longtime collaborator Alexandre Desplat composed the score.
As we revealed earlier this week, the film has closed multiple distribution deals in international markets.
There remains fierce debate in the film world and beyond over whether Polanski should be endorsed or not as an artist while 1973 charges of unlawful sex with a minor in the U.
The Palace unfolds against the backdrop of Switzerland’s luxury Gstaad Palace hotel and revolves around the chasm between its ultra-rich clients and those who serve them in the lead-up to a lavish New Year Party on the eve of 2000.
Featuring Mickey Rourke, Fanny Ardant and John Cleese in the ensemble cast, the film took inspiration from Polanski’s own stays at the Gstaad Palace. He wrote the screenplay with Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski and producer Ewa Piaskowska. Longtime collaborator Alexandre Desplat composed the score.
As we revealed earlier this week, the film has closed multiple distribution deals in international markets.
There remains fierce debate in the film world and beyond over whether Polanski should be endorsed or not as an artist while 1973 charges of unlawful sex with a minor in the U.
- 9/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Venice Film Festival’s red carpet swapped glamour for politics on Saturday, hosting a flash mob in solidarity with the Iranian people, fighting against repression, as well as filmmakers who are being oppressed – and arrested – because of their work.
Such as “Leila’s Brothers” director Saeed Roustaee, recently sentenced to six months in prison for showing the film in Cannes. He has also been banned from making movies.
“Born in 1989, Roustaee represents a new generation of Iranian auteurs, and one who’s sly enough to embed his complex social critiques so deep into the fabric of sprawling modern stories that he hasn’t upset the regime. Not yet, at least,” ominously wrote Variety’s Peter Debruge following its premiere at the French fest.
Roustaee also made “Life and a Day” and thriller “Just 6.5,” which was shown in Venice.
Elham Erfani, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi and guests attend the Flash Mob in Solidarity With Iranian People.
Such as “Leila’s Brothers” director Saeed Roustaee, recently sentenced to six months in prison for showing the film in Cannes. He has also been banned from making movies.
“Born in 1989, Roustaee represents a new generation of Iranian auteurs, and one who’s sly enough to embed his complex social critiques so deep into the fabric of sprawling modern stories that he hasn’t upset the regime. Not yet, at least,” ominously wrote Variety’s Peter Debruge following its premiere at the French fest.
Roustaee also made “Life and a Day” and thriller “Just 6.5,” which was shown in Venice.
Elham Erfani, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi and guests attend the Flash Mob in Solidarity With Iranian People.
- 9/2/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The cast, producers and collaborators of Roman Polanski’s The Palace showed their support for the filmmaker here in Venice today during a press conference for the movie that world premieres out of competition this evening.
Polanski himself is not on the Lido as it remains unclear whether he would be subject to Italy’s extradition treaty with the U.S. The selection of The Palace has sparked debate in the film world, which remains split over whether Polanski should be celebrated as an artist while 1970s charges of unlawful sex with a minor in the U.S. remain unresolved.
This is the second time in recent years that the filmmaker has been in official selection in Venice. However, following 2019’s prizewinning drama An Officer and a Spy, he’s back with a comedic movie.
The satire pokes fun at the ultra-rich and is set against the backdrop of Switzerland’s luxury Gstaad Palace Hotel,...
Polanski himself is not on the Lido as it remains unclear whether he would be subject to Italy’s extradition treaty with the U.S. The selection of The Palace has sparked debate in the film world, which remains split over whether Polanski should be celebrated as an artist while 1970s charges of unlawful sex with a minor in the U.S. remain unresolved.
This is the second time in recent years that the filmmaker has been in official selection in Venice. However, following 2019’s prizewinning drama An Officer and a Spy, he’s back with a comedic movie.
The satire pokes fun at the ultra-rich and is set against the backdrop of Switzerland’s luxury Gstaad Palace Hotel,...
- 9/2/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The stars were out in Venice for Variety and the Golden Globe Awards’ party on Thursday night, featuring Chase Stokes, Kelsea Ballerini, Lukas Gage and Pablo Larraín.
Presented by Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment, the event celebrated breakthrough talent and excellence in Italian filmmaking, handing out several awards under the moonlight. Stokes and Gage received breakthrough actor awards; Jack Huston and Alice Diop were given breakthrough director awards; director Larraín was named the Venice Visionary; director Saverio Costanzo received the Italian Excellence award; and “Ferrari” producers Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi were honored with the breakthrough producers award.
Lady Monika Bacardi and Andrea Iervolino attend the Variety and Golden Globes Party at Venice Film Festival. Jack Huston, Helen Hoehne and Ramin Setoodeh attend the Variety and Golden Globes Party at Venice Film Festival.
Stokes, who dropped into Venice from a vacation on the Amalfi Coast with girlfriend and country singer Ballerini,...
Presented by Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment, the event celebrated breakthrough talent and excellence in Italian filmmaking, handing out several awards under the moonlight. Stokes and Gage received breakthrough actor awards; Jack Huston and Alice Diop were given breakthrough director awards; director Larraín was named the Venice Visionary; director Saverio Costanzo received the Italian Excellence award; and “Ferrari” producers Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi were honored with the breakthrough producers award.
Lady Monika Bacardi and Andrea Iervolino attend the Variety and Golden Globes Party at Venice Film Festival. Jack Huston, Helen Hoehne and Ramin Setoodeh attend the Variety and Golden Globes Party at Venice Film Festival.
Stokes, who dropped into Venice from a vacation on the Amalfi Coast with girlfriend and country singer Ballerini,...
- 9/1/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
France’s UFO Distribution has acquired French rights to Venice Horizons entry “An Endless Sunday” by first-time Italian director Alain Parroni from Fandango Sales.
The film will segue from Venice to Toronto where it screens in the fest’s Discovery section.
Set on the outskirts of contemporary Rome, this coming-of-age drama – which is based on the director’s own personal experiences – involves a trio of young characters named Alex, Brenda and Kevin. “An Endless Sunday” has been described by Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera as “a story of nihilism and rebellion” that “could become the manifesto of a lost generation.”
“For my generation, narrating our adolescence and coming-of-age is a matter of language,” said Parroni in his director’s statement.
His film questions “the languages and media that new generations are using, as well as their values in relation to the world around them. For me Alex, Brenda and Kevin...
The film will segue from Venice to Toronto where it screens in the fest’s Discovery section.
Set on the outskirts of contemporary Rome, this coming-of-age drama – which is based on the director’s own personal experiences – involves a trio of young characters named Alex, Brenda and Kevin. “An Endless Sunday” has been described by Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera as “a story of nihilism and rebellion” that “could become the manifesto of a lost generation.”
“For my generation, narrating our adolescence and coming-of-age is a matter of language,” said Parroni in his director’s statement.
His film questions “the languages and media that new generations are using, as well as their values in relation to the world around them. For me Alex, Brenda and Kevin...
- 9/1/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Roman Polanski’s dark comedy The Palace has sold to a host of key territories ahead of its Venice premiere, with distributors getting behind the film in spite of the controversy surrounding the director.
Goodfellas has unveiled deals to Benelux (Paradiso Films), Spain (Vértigo Films), Germany (Weltkino), Greece (Spentzos) and Portugal (Nos Lusomondo) in Western Europe.
Eastern and Central European distributors have also snapped up the film with sales to Bulgaria (Beta Film), Yugoslavia (McF), Hungary (Cirko), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Pilot Films), the Baltics (Best Film) and Cis (Pro:vzglyad). United King has acquired Israeli rights, while Teleview has taken Middle East.
The Palace will be launched theatrically in Italy on September 28 by 01 Distribution. Its parent Rai Cinema is a key partner on the production alongside lead producer Luca Barbareschi.
Lausanne-based Cab Productions, which is also a producer, holds Swiss rights. Tomasz Przybecki is handling Polish rights in a deal brokered by Barbareschi.
Goodfellas has unveiled deals to Benelux (Paradiso Films), Spain (Vértigo Films), Germany (Weltkino), Greece (Spentzos) and Portugal (Nos Lusomondo) in Western Europe.
Eastern and Central European distributors have also snapped up the film with sales to Bulgaria (Beta Film), Yugoslavia (McF), Hungary (Cirko), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Pilot Films), the Baltics (Best Film) and Cis (Pro:vzglyad). United King has acquired Israeli rights, while Teleview has taken Middle East.
The Palace will be launched theatrically in Italy on September 28 by 01 Distribution. Its parent Rai Cinema is a key partner on the production alongside lead producer Luca Barbareschi.
Lausanne-based Cab Productions, which is also a producer, holds Swiss rights. Tomasz Przybecki is handling Polish rights in a deal brokered by Barbareschi.
- 8/31/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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