70th Venice International Film Festival opens with Gravity, the new, much-awaited film directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también, Children of Men), starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney . The Festival is directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta. The world premiere of Gravity will be screened in 3D on August 28th in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema at the Lido, following the opening ceremony. Twenty films will vie for the coveted Golden Lion at the world's oldest film festival with the jury headed by Oscar-winning director Bernardo Bertolucci .The festival will showcase 53 new feature films from 33 countries . Of the 20 films competing for the Golden Lion, five are American, four British and three Italian. The lineup includes films by three Oscar-winning directors: Hayao Miyazaki with an animated film about a Japanese fighter plane designer, Errol Morris with a documentary about former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and Poland's Andrzej Wajda with a movie depicting the life of Solidarity leader Lech Walesa. The first two are in competition. The other documentary in competition is Gianfranco Rosi's `'Sacro GRA," about life on the highway that rings Rome.Three previous Golden Lion winners are returning to the Lido. They include Italy's Gianni Amelio with `'L'intrepido," or `'The Intrepid," and Taiwan-based director Tsai Ming-liang with `'Stray Dogs," both in competition. Last year's winner, Kim Ki-duk, premieres `'Moebius," his follow-up to `'Pieta" that has generated controversy at home in South Korea for its graphic content.In celebration of the 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival, the Biennale di Venezia has created the special project, Venezia 70 -future Reloaded. 70 movie directors from all over the world have been invited to make a short film lasting between 60 and 90 seconds. All the shorts will be given a first public screening at the Lido during the 70th Venice Film Festival.
International competition of feature films, presented as world premieres
MERZAK ALLOUACHE - ES-STOUH
Algeria, France, 94'
Adila Bendimerad, Nassima Belmihoub, Ahcene Benzerari, Aïssa Chouat, Mourad Khen, Myriam Ait El Hadj
Algeria, France, 94'
Adila Bendimerad, Nassima Belmihoub, Ahcene Benzerari, Aïssa Chouat, Mourad Khen, Myriam Ait El Hadj
GIANNI AMELIO - L'INTREPIDO
Italy, 104'
Antonio Albanese, Livia Rossi, Gabriele Rendina, Alfonso Santagata, Sandra Ceccarelli
Italy, 104'
Antonio Albanese, Livia Rossi, Gabriele Rendina, Alfonso Santagata, Sandra Ceccarelli
ALEXANDROS AVRANAS - MISS VIOLENCE
Greece, 99'
Themis Panou, Eleni Roussinou
Greece, 99'
Themis Panou, Eleni Roussinou
JOHN CURRAN - TRACKS
UK, Australia, 107'
Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver
UK, Australia, 107'
Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver
EMMA DANTE - VIA CASTELLANA BANDIERA
Italy, Switzerland, France, 90'
Elena Cotta, Emma Dante, Alba Rohrwacher, Renato Malfatti, Dario Casarolo, Carmine Maringola
Italy, Switzerland, France, 90'
Elena Cotta, Emma Dante, Alba Rohrwacher, Renato Malfatti, Dario Casarolo, Carmine Maringola
XAVIER DOLAN - TOM À LA FERME
Canada, France, 105'
Xavier Dolan, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Lise Roy, Evelyne Brochu
Canada, France, 105'
Xavier Dolan, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Lise Roy, Evelyne Brochu
JAMES FRANCO - CHILD OF GOD
USA, 104'
Scott Haze, Tim Blake, Nelson Jim Parrack
USA, 104'
Scott Haze, Tim Blake, Nelson Jim Parrack
STEPHEN FREARS - PHILOMENA
UK, 94'
Judi Dench, Steve Coogan
UK, 94'
Judi Dench, Steve Coogan
PHILIPPE GARREL - LA JALOUSIE
France, 77'
Louis Garrel, Anna Mouglalis
France, 77'
Louis Garrel, Anna Mouglalis
TERRY GILLIAM - THE ZERO THEOREM
UK, USA, 107'
Christoph Waltz, Matt Damon, Mélanie Thierry, David Thewlis, Lucas Hedges, Ben Whishaw, Tilda Swinton
UK, USA, 107'
Christoph Waltz, Matt Damon, Mélanie Thierry, David Thewlis, Lucas Hedges, Ben Whishaw, Tilda Swinton
AMOS GITAI - ANA ARABIA
Israel, France, 84'
Yuval Scharf, Sarah Adler, Uri Gavriel, Norman Issa, Yussuf Abuwarda, Shady Srur, Assi Levy
Israel, France, 84'
Yuval Scharf, Sarah Adler, Uri Gavriel, Norman Issa, Yussuf Abuwarda, Shady Srur, Assi Levy
JONATHAN GLAZER - UNDER THE SKIN
UK, USA, 107'
Scarlett Johansson
UK, USA, 107'
Scarlett Johansson
DAVID GORDON GREEN - JOE
USA, 117'
Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Ronie Gene Blevins
USA, 117'
Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Ronie Gene Blevins
PHILIP GRÖNING - DIE FRAU DES POLIZISTEN
Germany, 175'
Alexandra Finder, David Zimmerschied, Pia Kleemann, Chiara Kleemann, Horst Rehberg, Katharina Susewind, Lars Rudolph
Germany, 175'
Alexandra Finder, David Zimmerschied, Pia Kleemann, Chiara Kleemann, Horst Rehberg, Katharina Susewind, Lars Rudolph
PETER LANDESMAN - PARKLAND
USA, 92'
James Badge Dale, Zac Efron, Jackie Earle Haley, Colin Hanks, David Harbour, Marcia Gay Harden, Ron Livingston, Jeremy Strong, Billy Bob Thornton, Jackie Weaver, Tom Welling, Paul Giamatti
USA, 92'
James Badge Dale, Zac Efron, Jackie Earle Haley, Colin Hanks, David Harbour, Marcia Gay Harden, Ron Livingston, Jeremy Strong, Billy Bob Thornton, Jackie Weaver, Tom Welling, Paul Giamatti
HAYAO MIYAZAKI - KAZE TACHINU
Japan, 126'
(Animation)
Japan, 126'
(Animation)
ERROL MORRIS - THE UNKNOWN KNOWN
USA, 105'
Donald Rumsfeld (documentary)
USA, 105'
Donald Rumsfeld (documentary)
KELLY REICHARDT - NIGHT MOVES
USA, 112'
Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, James Le Gros
USA, 112'
Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, James Le Gros
GIANFRANCO ROSI - SACRO GRA
Italy, 87'
(documentary)
Italy, 87'
(documentary)
MING-LIANG TSAI - JIAOYOU (STRAY DOGS)
Chinese Taipei, France, 138'
Lee Kang-sheng, Lu Yi-ching, Lee Yi-cheng, Lee Yi-chieh, Chen Shiang-chyi
Chinese Taipei, France, 138'
Lee Kang-sheng, Lu Yi-ching, Lee Yi-cheng, Lee Yi-chieh, Chen Shiang-chyi
