A rash of debuts, and for the
first time 16 directors in the international competition, are
among novelties spearheading the 72nd Venice Film Festival from
September 2 to 12.
The extravaganza focuses on scouting for new talent
(already a mission of the annual Biennale College project) and
on putting into play authors already known and awarded including
Atom Egoyan, Pablo Trapero, Laurie Anderson, Luca Guadagnino,
Charlie Kaufman and Tom Hooper.
Among four Italians in competition, Piero Messina makes a
double debut, with his first work and his first time at the
Lido, with L'attesa (The Wait), a female story with Juliette
Binoche.
Another first film vying for the Golden Lion is the
Venezuelan 'Desde allá' by Lorenzo Vigas, who wrote the
screenplay together with Guillermo Arriaga.
In addition the debuting Duke Johnson, author of the Oscar
winning screenplay Charlie Kaufman, offers the cartoon
Anomalisa.
Luca Guadagnino debuts in the main competition with A
Bigger Splash (remake of The pool by Jacques Deray) acted by
Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts and Dakota
Johnson.
Among other directors to debut are Atom Egoyan and his
Remember, a story of war injuries and revenge with Christopher
Plummer and Martin Landau; Pablo Trapero, who in El Clan tells
the real story of the Puccio family, kidnappers and murderers;
Tom Hooper, Oscar winner for best director in 2011 for The
King's Speech, offers The Danish Girl, with Eddie Redmayne as
Lili Elbe, one of the first transsexuals to undergo surgical
procedure for a sex change. Laurie Anderson also mixes arts and
autobiography in Heart of a Dog, which explores mourning.
In Horizons, among the directorial debuts in the
competition (seven in all) Budding Sheep by Albert Caviglia is a
surreal comedy set in Trastevere. The star Robert Pattinson is
the protagonist of Brady Corbet's, The Childhood of a
Leader, inspired by the novel of the same name by Jean-Paul
Sartre and by The Magus by John Fowles, following the disturbing
growth path of a fascist leader in post First World War I
Europe.
In the Week of the Critic, dedicated to first works, Italy
has in competition Banat by Adriano Valerio, the history of Ivo,
an agronomist who, having no opportunities in Italy, takes a job
in Romania.
As many as 10 newcomers are present in the Auteurs' Days
section including the cartoon Bangland by Lorenzo Berghella
about a dystopian America; the documentary Harry's Bar by
Charlotte Cerquetti and Arianna Carlo Lavagna, is a journey into
the identity of a 19-year-old intersexual.
In addition three new projects will be screened as part of
the third edition of the Biennale College, the workshop open to
young filmmakers from around the world.
Among the films made last year is Short Skin, the first
work of Duccio Chiarini, awarded the Golden Ciak, which has been
distributed in many countries including the United States.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
