70th Venice International Film Festival Award Winners

The post has become final and if you wish to read the top awards at the official site please go here while most of the other awards can be found here.

Was not able to watch live the closing ceremony which is annoying as did see the opening ceremony but perhaps what called my attention are the many twitter comments about the low press coverage of the awards which indeed suggests that this year fest was less "interesting" than let's say, last year. If you consider what I just commented then is NO Big surprise that top award went to a documentary, an Italian documentary. Still there are a couple of films that definitively are great must be seen for me: Philomena and Via Castellana Bandiera. Great.

VENEZIA70

Golden Lion for Best Film: Sacro Gra, Gianfranco Rosi, Italy and France (documentary)

Grand Jury Prize: Jiaoyou (Stray Dogs), Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan and France

Silver Lion for Best Director: Alexandros Avranas for Miss Violence, Greece

Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Elena Cotta in Via Castellana Bandiera, Emma Dante, Italy and Switzerland
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Themis Panou in Miss Violence, Alexandros Avranas, Greece
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Tye Sheridan in Joe, David Gordon Green, USA

Osella for Best Screenplay: Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope for Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France

Special Jury Prize: Die Frau des Polizisten, Philip Gröning, Germany

Lion of the Future – Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Film: White Shadow, Noaz Deshe, Tanzania, Italy and Germany (from Settimana Internazionale della Critica)

Orrizzonti Awards
Best Film: Eastern Boys, Robin Campillo, France
Best Director: Uberto Pasolini for Still Life, UK and Italy
Special Jury Prize: Ruin, Michael Cody and Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Australia
Special Jury Prize for Innovation: Mahi Va Gorbeh, Shahram Mokri, Iran
Best Short Film: Kush, Shubhashish Bhutiani, India

Venezia Classici Awards
Best Documentary: Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater, Gabe Klinger, France, Portugal and USA
Best Restored Film: La proprietà non è più un furto, Elio Petri, 1973

European Short Film Award: Houses With Small Windows, Bülent Öztürk, Belgium

Autonomous Sections

10th Giornate degli Autori - Venice Days
Europa Cinemas Label: La Belle Vie (The Good Life), Jean Denizot, France
Special Mention: Alienation, Milko Lazarov, Bulgaria
Premio al Film evento delle Giornate degli Autori 2013 (International Award): Kill Your Darlings, John Krokidas, USA

28th Settimana Internazionale Della Critica - Venice International Film Critics Week
Raro Video Audience Award: Zoran, il mio nipote scemo (Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot), Matteo Oleotto, Italy and Slovenia

Collateral Awards

FIPRESCI
Best Film from Venezia70: Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm), Xavier Dolan, Canada and France
Best Film from Orizzonti and International Critics' Week: Anna Odell for Återträffen (The Reunion), Sweden

CICAE Award: Still Life, Uberto Pasolini, UK and Italy

SIGNIS Award: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
Special Mention: Ana Arabia, Amos Gitai, Israel and France

FEDEORA Awards (Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean)
Venezia70
Best Euro-Mediterranean Film: Miss Violence, Alexandros Avranas, Greece
Giornate Degli Autori
Best Film: Bethlehem, Yuval Adler, Israel, Belgium and Germany
Best Young Director: Milko Lazarov for Alienation, Bulgaria
Special Mention: La Belle Vie (The Good Life), Jean Denizot, France
Settimana Internazionale della Critica
Best Film: Razredni sovražnik (Class Enemy), Rok Biček, Slovenia
Best Cinematography: Inti Briones for Las Niñas Quispe (The Quispe Girls), Sebastián Sepúlveda, Chile, France and Argentina
Special Mention: Anna Odell for Återträffen (The Reunion), Sweden

Online Critics Award
Mouse d'Oro for Best Film in Competition: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
Special Mention: Jiaoyou (Stray Dogs), Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan
Mouse d'Argento for Best Film out of competition: At Berkeley, Frederick Wiseman, USA (documentary)
Special Mention: Die andere heimat – Cronik einer sehnsucht, Edgar Reitz, Germany and France

Francesco Pasinetti Award
Best film: Still life, Uberto Pasolini, UK and Italy
Best Actors: Elena Cotta, Alba Rohrwacher e Antonio Albanese
Special Mention: Maria Rosaria Omaggio in Walesa. Man of Hope, Andrzej Wajda, Poland
Special Mention: Il terzo tempo, Enrico Maria Artale, Italy

Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola Award: Sacro Gra, Gianfranco Rosi, Italy (documentary)
Cinema for Unicef Award: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
La Navicella - Venezia Cinema Award:
Queer Lion: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France

ArcaCinemaGiovani Award
Best Film Venezia70: Miss Violence, Alexandros Avranas, Greece
Best Italian Film Venezia70: L'Arte della Felicità, Alessandro Rak, Italy

FEDIC Award: Zoran, il mio nipote scemo (Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot), Matteo Oleotto, Italy and Slovenia
Special Mention: The Zero Theorem, Terry Gilliam, USA and Romania

Lina Mangiacapre Award: Via Castellana Bandiera, Emma Dante, Italy and Switzerland
Special Mention: Traitors, Sean Gullette, USA and Morocco
Special Mention: All female cast in Ukrania Ne Bordel (Ukraine is Not a Brothel), Kitty Green, Australia and Ukraine

Future Digital Award: Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón, USA and UK
Special Mention: The Zero Theorem, Terry Gilliam, USA and Romania

UK-Italy Creative Industries Award - Best Innovative Budget
Il Terzo Tempo, Enrico Maria Artale, Italy
Medeas, Andrea Pallaoro, Italy, Mexico and USA
Kush, Shubhashish Bhutiani, India (short)

Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Youth Jury Award: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
Special Mention: Via Castellana Bandiera, Emma Dante, Italy and Switzerland

Soundtrack Stars Award
Best Sound: Via Castellana Bandiera, Emma Dante, Italy and Switzerland
Special award Best Contemporary Actor: Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ambiente WWF Award: Amazonia, Thierry Ragobert, Brazil and France (documentary)
Brian Award: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
CICT-UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award: Joe, David Gordon Green, USA
Cinema for Unicef Award: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
Christopher D. Smithers Foundation Award: Joe, David Gordon Green, USA
Civitas Vitae Award: Still Life, Uberto Pasolini, UK and Italy
Fondazione Rotella Award: Gianni Amelio for L'Intrepido, Italy
Gillo Pontecorvo Arcobaleno Latino Award: Con Il Fiato Sospeso, Costanza Quatriglio, Italy (short)
Green Drop Award: Ana Arabia, Amos Gitai, Israel and France
INTERFILM Award: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
Lanterna Magica Award (GCS): L'Intrepido, Gianni Amelio, Italy
Open Award: Venezia Salva, Serena Nono, Italy
Padre Nazareno Taddei Award: Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France
Schermi di qualità Award: Zoran, il mio nipote scemo (Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot), Matteo Oleotto, Italy and Slovenia

Career Golden Lion: William Friedkin
Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo Robert Bresson Award: Amos Gitai
Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker 2013 prize: Ettore Scola
L'Oreal Paris per il Cinema Award: Eugenia Costantini
Persol Award: Andrzej Wajda
Premio Bianchi: Enzo d’Alò
Premio Gillo Pontecorvo Arte e Industria: Walter Veltroni

7th Queer Lion Lineup and Winner

A few minutes ago the winner was announced and to my surprise this year Queer Lion winner is a film that I'm really looking forward to watch, which is highly unusual!

... and the winner is:

Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France (G)

The jury, headed by Angelo Acerbi and composed by Queer Lion founder Daniel N. Casagrande and Marco Busato, general delegate of cultural association CinemArte, unanimously awarded the prize "For the ability of giving proper relevance to issues such as homosexuality, AIDS and homophobia in a movie focused on the painful topic of a 50 years long search for a son, and for emphasizing, with the light touch of a comedy, how an humble woman with a deep Catholic faith can show outright and loving acceptance for the essential, important aspects of the sexual identity and same-sex family of a 'just re-discovered' son."

---///---
8/21
Today finally was published the list of the nine (9) films that will compete for the 2013 Queer Lion and here they are with a small summary for each film.

Venezia 70 (Main Competition)
Philomena, Stephen Frears, UK, USA and France (G)
Falling pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman.” When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns for adoption in America. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him but with no success. Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary political journalist who happened to be intrigued by her story. Together they set off to America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son (who had become a great lawyer, front-man for the Republican Party under Reagan’s and Bush Sr.’s administrations; but who was also gay, forced by his party’s homophobic views to lead a double life, until his tragic departure, at 43, due to AIDS), but also create an unexpectedly close bond between Philomena and Martin. The film is a compelling narrative of human love and loss that ultimately celebrates life.

Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm), Xavier Dolan, Canada and France (G)
Tom, a young advertising copywriter, travels to the country for a funeral. There, he’s shocked to find out no one knows who he is, nor who he was to the deceased, whose brother soon sets the rules of a twisted game. In order to protect the family’s name and grieving mother, Tom now has to play the peacekeeper in a household whose obscure past bodes even greater darkness for his “trip” to the farm. Stockholm syndrome, deception, grief and secretive savageries pervade this brief and brutal pilgrimage through the warped and ugly truth.

Via Castellana Bandiera (A Street in Palermo),Emma Dante, Italy, Switzerland and France (L)
It’s a Sunday afternoon. The sirocco is blowing pitilessly in Palermo when Rosa and Clara, a lesbian couple, lose their way in the streets of the city and end up in a sort of alley: Via Castellana Bandiera. At the same moment, another car driven by Samira, crammed with members of the Calafiore family, arrives from the opposite direction and enters the same street. Neither Rosa at the wheel of her Multipla, nor Samira, the old and stubborn woman driving a Punto, is willing to give way to the other. A wholly female duel punctuated by the refusal to drink, eat and sleep; more obstinate than the sun of Palermo and more stubborn than the ferocity of the men who surround them. For, as in every duel, it is a question of life or death.

Orizzonti
Eastern Boys, Robin Campillo, France (G)
They come from all over Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Moldova... The oldest ones appear no more than 25; as for the youngest, there is no way of telling their age. They spend all their time hanging around the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. They might be male prostitutes. Daniel, a discreet man in his early fifties, has his eye on one of them, Marek. Gathering his courage, he speaks to him. The young man agrees to come and visit Daniel the following day at his place, with wholly unpredictable consequences. Daniel will have to learn to fight to defend himself and the youth from the violent reaction of the group, led by a brutal man who is determined not to loosen his grip.

Piccola Patria, Alessandro Rossetto, Italy (L)
Two young women, a hot and stifling summer, the desire to get away from a small provincial town. Luisa is full of life, uninhibited, unconventional; Renata is dark, angry, in need of love. The lives of the two women tell a story of blackmail, of betrayed love, of violence: Luisa uses Bilal, her Albanian boyfriend, Renata uses Luisa’s body to pull the strings of her vendetta. Both want to leave the small community that raised them, among local festivals and nationalist rallies, exhausted families and new generations of migrants targeted by those still feeling threatened. Luisa, Renata and Bilal will run the risk of losing themselves, of losing a precious part of themselves, of losing the people they love, of losing their life.

Giornate degli Autori
3 Bodas de Más (Three Many Weddings), Javier Ruiz Caldera, Spain (G)
Is there anything worse than being invited to your ex-boyfriend´s wedding? Sure! When it happens three times in one month, when you don´t know how to say no, when you are an awkward 30-something who loses it after a couple drinks, when the only person you can convince to be your date is the new intern, and when at one of the weddings you are up for a huge surprise, when it comes to the sentence “you may now kiss the bride”.

Gerontophilia, Bruce LaBruce, Canada (G)
18-year-old Lake has a sweet activist girlfriend, but one day discovers he has an unusual attraction for the elderly. Fate conspires to land him a summer job at a nursing home where he develops a tender relationship with Mr. Peabody. Discovering that the patients are being over-medicated to make them easier to manage, Lake decides to wean him off his medication and help him escape, resulting in a humorous and heartfelt road trip that strengthens their bond.

Julia, J. Jackie Baier, Germany and Lithuania (documentary) (T)
A story of faith and disbelief. Of uprootedness and affiliation. What makes a boy from art school decide to leave home and live as a girl on the streets of Berlin selling her body for money? For more than ten years, photographer and filmmaker J. Jackie Baier followed transsexual Julia K. from her birthplace, Klaipeda in Lithuania, to her tough life on the streets as a hooker, outlaw and nonconformist who never signed any social contract.

Kill Your Darlings, John Krokidas, USA (G)
Kerouac. Burroughs. Ginsberg. Who were they, though, before they became virtual icons of the counterculture movement? In 1944, Jack Kerouac was a washed-up college running back who had lasted all of eight days in the U.S. Navy. William S. Burroughs was a medical school dropout, former door-to-door insect exterminator and budding drug addict, hanging on the fringes of the New York bohemian scene after following a pair of friends from his native St. Louis, Lucien Carr and David Kammerer, to Manhattan. Allen Ginsberg was a nervous, straitlaced freshman at Columbia University, easy prey of Carr’s seduction games and his obsession with the charismatic Kammerer. This is the story of three future beats who fell in with each other, and a brutal murder that capped off their youthful partnership.

Settimana della Critica
L’Armée du salut (Salvation Army), Abdellah Taïa, France (G)
In Casablanca, the young Abdellah spends his days at home, living a relationship of conflicts and complicity with his father. In the city streets, he has occasional sexual intercourses with men. During a holiday, his older and venerated brother Slimane abandons him. Ten years later. Abdellah lives with his Swiss lover, Jean. He leaves Morocco and goes to Geneva, where he decides to break up and to start a new life alone. He takes shelter in a house of the Salvation Army, where a Moroccan man sings a song of his idol Abdel Halim Hafez for him.

Furthermore, NOT competing, but worthy of being mentioned for their secondary LGBT contents, are Stephen Frears’s Philomena (Venezia 70), Paul Schrader’s The Canyons (Out of Competition), Cherien Dabis’s May in the Summer (Venice Days), Moisés Sepúlveda’s Las Analfabetas (International Critics’ Week). And we cannot  forget mentioning the restored version of Nagisa Ôshima’s masterpiece Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

As usual, during the Festival the jury might decide to include in the competition movies not mentioned in this list.

On Saturday, September 7th, at Cinema Astra in Lido, Special Event with the screening of Il rosa nudo by Giovanni Coda, the Queer Lion 2013 award ceremony, and the debate Lotta all’omofobia: quali strumenti? (Fighting Homophobia: How?) at the presence of Sen. Josefa Idem, M.P. Alessandro Zan, and president of Gaynet Franco Grillini.

Up to this moment the jury has three members Angelo Acerbi (president), Daniel N. Casagrande and Marco Busato.

Here is a recently published document that has a bit of the award history plus several award winners in past editions. Available only in Italian.

Another Winter Movie Bits

Winter is almost over so let's recall some of the movies I have seen during the cold season.

Infancia Clandestina (Clandestine Childhood), Benjamín Ávila, Argentina, Spain and Brazil
Known for his documentary Nietos (Identidad y Memorial) Avila debuts with his first feature film about a similar subject, the children in the troubled Argentinean days of the late 70's. As stated by Avila film story is not autobiographical even when he mixes some of his personal memories with fiction and tells story from a child point of view, which is very safe but becomes a lot less engaging for viewers as at moments becomes a melodrama about puppy love more than how to handle a double identity when you are so young. In this sense while watching story became very familiar for me and not unique as similar stories were told by films like 1988 Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty and 2000 Christian Petzold's Die innere Sicherheit (The State I Am In). The second is also Petzold's feature film debut and for a debut is a very engaging film and story, an opportunity that is lost in Avila's film perhaps because is not easy to objectively direct a film about what happened in your real life.

As we know was Argentina's submission to 2013 Oscar, an honor that perhaps was given more for the story film tells than for film's quality. Still stories like this one need to be told and people need to know them. Watch at your own risk but do not expect much from film specs and perhaps you will enjoy it more than me. Enjoy!  Trailer.


Las Malas Intenciones (The Bad Intentions), Rosario Garcia-Montero, Peru, Argentina and Germany
The debut feature film by Garcia-Montero that also has a story centered in a child and her view of everything that surrounds her in the critical and violent moments in Peru of the early 80's. This time the story is set in a wealthy family where the lonely young girl world collapses as her mother tells her she is going to have a sibling, which is the excuse to lightly explore Peru's conflicts. Not many stories have been told from this specific conflict, so there was a big opportunity for this film to excel at least for the story told, but no it did not as the little girl personal story overshadows everything else that is also told. Then you have the problem of not-so-good acting which makes film very hard to sustain watching.

Peru's submission to 2013 Oscar definitively has not the quality of films by more accomplished Peruvian directors like Claudia Llosa or Vega brothers outstanding films so suggest to watch at your own risk not expecting a great film and maybe you will enjoy it more than what I did. Sigh. Trailer.

Todos Tenemos Un Plan (Everybody Has a Plan), Ana Piterbarg, Argentina, Spain and Germany
Another debut feature film by Ana Piterbarg that unfortunately is not much amazing perhaps due to the lack of developed directorial skills as film starts very well both story wise and tech specs but around the middle film clearly lost direction after setting up some really interesting concepts that are abandoned for stretching a film too long without a clear direction to a much predictable end.

The best film has is that Viggo Mortensen performance looks great thanks to other actors really bad performances. Alright there is something else, Piterbarg style suggests that she will have a good future in filmmaking when her directorial skills improve. Enjoy.  Trailer.

Blancanieves, Pablo Berger, Spain
A very interesting take on classic Snow White tale as film is one of the most clearly Spain's values showcase that I have seen in ages, not only because is about bullfighting, has great music score (mostly Flamenco) but because is set in the 20's and has some great costumes. Also as film is black and white delights us with some very interesting use of light creating some outstanding to watch compositions. The silent film is an homage to German Expressionism which makes film very different to the "other" recent silent film and makes it a very artistic feast to the eyes. That's the good part.

On the not-great side, unfortunately some of the performances doesn't fit what you expect from a silent film nor recreates the fantastic performances in films of the German Expressionism era. For me performances are "too modern" with the occasional exceptions when the necessary silent film dramatic-exaggerated performance is present in scenes by Maribel Verdú. Still and considering modern performances is Macarena García who captured my attention and who I enjoyed most in film.

Spain's submission to 2013 Oscar was surely overshadowed by last year Best Picture Oscar winner but do not let this fool you as this is a movie that I strongly suggest you do not skip especially if you appreciate art in movies but somehow I know that due to the known tale very unconventional adaptation could please wider audiences that never imagined Snow White could be told as is told here. Enjoy!!! Trailer.

Hypnotisören (The Hypnotist), Lasse Hallström, Sweden
A great entertaining film that in my opinion represents well Nordic mainstream films as absolutely has the fantastic cold performances style, blueish/greyish look, slowish pace and a story that can easily capture your attention. But one word of advice, do NOT expect this film to be a Hollywood thriller as thankfully it is NOT.

My best reference is that if you enjoyed 2008 Tomas Alfredson's Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In), 2006 Baltasar Kormákur's Mýrin (Jar City) and/or the original 2009 Niels Arden Oplev's Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) then perhaps you will also enjoy this film that was Sweden submission to 2013 Oscar. Enjoy!! Trailer.

Den skaldede frisør (Love Is All You Need), Susanne Bier, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, France and Germany
Was expecting a less mainstream movie but movie is really mainstream cinema and perhaps the most crowd-pleaser/feel-good that Bier has done. Unfortunately and mainly due to casting but also because story, film makes you think about Mamma Mia! -without the songs- which somehow didn't help me to enjoy more film. Still film has some great Nordic style performances by Trine Dyrholm's as Ida and Paprika Steen as very unpleasant Benedikte; the only cast misfortune is Pierce Brosnan even when his performance is not bad, role should have been given to another good actor that hasn't star in a similar story high profile movie.

This romcom is nice to watch but please do not expect a Hollywood romcom as there is nothing American in this film, not the performances, not the storytelling style, not the humor, not the background drama, nor anything else. Film is an enjoyable entertaining moment that could please many that enjoy European cinema. Enjoy!! Trailer.

Cloclo (My Way), Florent-Emilio Siri, France and Belgium
Was more interesting in recalling the life of Claude François than watching film as a film, so you can say that my expectations were very low which was perfect as film as a film is not that good. Assume that this biopic will please many fans of the French pop singer but wonder if those not familiar with him and his brief life could enjoy film that much. Still Jérémie Renier performance is very acceptable as if not has the true looks has most of the mannerisms of Claude François, however is Benoît Magimel transformation what impressed me the most.

For those not familiar with the French singer (he was contemporary of Gilbert Bécaud, Johnny Hallyday and Frances Gall -all are in movie) perhaps knowing that he was the co creator of one of the most famous songs in the world, My Way that Paul Anka bought the rights, created new English lyrics and Frank Sinatra made it an international success. In this sense perhaps what film also has is an interesting take in how songs are translated into other languages to make local singers very popular in that language-speaking countries, sometimes overshadowing locally the success of the "original" song/singer and this story works BOTH ways here, from English to French and from French to English.

It is a very French film with a very French story that I am not sure non-French can enjoy, so my best suggestion is to watch Youtube video clips of the real Claude François before watching movie. Enjoy! Trailer.

The Paperboy, Lee Daniels, USA
With the mostly not positive reviews was expecting a film that I could not enjoy, but surprise, surprise film is truly "trashy" but highly enjoyable with one scene that I know will NOT forget, ever. This particular scene made me jump with a mix of disgust and incredibility as even when during the entire movie I really forgot I was watching Nicole Kidman in the screen, during this scene I couldn't help but seeing her doing a very sexually graphic scene (actually you see not much as almost everything is suggested) that yes, shocked me. Please do not allow me to confuse you, this is one the best Kidman's performances I have seen and one that everyone should see.

Know that film is not for everyone as is very violent, very sexually suggestive (not much is actually shown but it is suggested and makes your imagination flow into only one direction), highly homoerotic (again not much shown but suggested) and story is in one word, bizarre. But somehow Daniels take on the Pete Dexter award winner novel reminds me of Tarantino and bet you all that if Tarantino dared to tell this story, many will praise his work. Then you can't forget that Pedro Almodovar produced film which makes the Daniels-Almodovar collaboration very unconventional and yes, bizarre. Great.

I couldn't watch Daniels previous film as was too much for me, but this one strongly recommend you watch it; however prepare yourself for a sleazy/trashy very unconventional film. Enjoy!!! Trailer.

Have seen many more films but this is it for today. Cheers!

7th Rome Film Festival Award Winners

From Twitter these are the very "controversial" awards as if you check Twitter you will really laugh with all the negative comments. Some say that Venezia69 was controversial because no Italian film got awards and Rome is controversial because gave awards to Italian films.

But seriously, the fest seemed like a very amateur festival, still have a long way to become professional. Some claim that is only Marco Muller first time, so let's hope that next year festival improves with the movies and much more with the organization.

Just went to confirm the awards winners at the official site and the post becomes final as Twitter tweets were right. Gosh, I just realized that there are no FIPRESCI, CICAE, etc. awards, which is very strange; will confirm later if those awards were not given in this fest. Seems that those awards were not part of this festival as according to the awards official sites the 2012 Rome festival is not recorded anywhere. This only suggests (or confirms?) the possible many troubles the fest had this year.

That's it for this year. Ciao.

Official Selection

Golden Marc’Aurelio Award for Best Film: Marfa Girl, Larry Clark, USA

Best Director Award: Paolo Franchi for E la Chiamano Estate, Italy
Special Jury Prize: Alì ha gli occhi azzurri, Claudio Giovannesi, Italy
Best Actor Award: Jérémie Elkaïm in Main Dans La Main (Hand in Hand), Valérie Donzelli, France
Best Actress Award: Isabella Ferrari in E la Chiamano Estate, Paolo Franchi, Italy
Award for Emerging Actor or Actress: Marilyne Fointaine in Un Enfant de Toi (You, Me and Us), Jacques Doillon, France
Award for Best Technical Contribution- Cinematography: Arnau Valls Colomer in Mai Morire, Enrique Rivero, Mexico
Award for Best Screenplay: Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue for The Motel Life, Gabriel Polsky and Alan Polsky, USA

Best Debut and Second Film Award: Alì ha gli occhi azzurri, Claudio Giovannesi, Italy
Special Mention: Razzabastarda by Alessandro Gassman, Italy

Audience Award: The Motel Life, Gabriel Polsky and Alan Polsky, USA

CinemaXXI
CinemaXXI Award: Avanti Popolo, Michael Wahrmann, Brazil
Special Jury Prize: Picas (Pizzas), Laila Pakalnina, Latvia
CinemaXXI Award for Short Films and Medium-length Films: Panihida, Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu, Germany and Moldavia

Perspectives Award (Italian Films)
Best Feature Film: Cosimo e Nicole, Francesco Amato, Italy
Best Documentary: Pezzi, Luca Ferrari, Italy
Best Short Film: Il gatto del Maine, Antonello Schioppa, Italy

Special mentions: Cosimo Cinieri and in memory of Anna Orso for La prima legge di Newton

Collateral Awards

AGISCUOLA Golden Butterfly Award: 一九四二 Yi Wu Si Er (Back to 1942), Feng Xiaogang, China
A.I.C. Award for Best Cinematography: Lü Yue for 一九四二 Yi Wu Si Er (Back to 1942), Feng Xiaogang, China
Enel Cuore for Social Cinema: El Ojo del Tiburón, Alejo Hoijman, Spain and Argentina
L.A.R.A. Award to Best Italian Actor: Paolo Sassanelli in Cosimo e Nicole, Francesco Amato, Italy
A.M.C. Best Editing Award: Hughes Winborne e Fabienne Rawley for The Motel Life, Gabriel Polsky and Alan Polsky, USA

TAODUE Camera d'Oro Awards
Best New Director: Alina Marazzi for Tutto Parla Di Te, Italy
Best Producer: Gianfilippo Pedote for Tutto Parla Di Te, Alina Marazzi, Italy

Mouse Awards (Given by online critics)
Golden Mouse for Best Film In Competition: The Motel Life, Gabriel Polsky and Alan Polsky, USA
Silver Mouse for Best Film Out of the main Competition: Goltzius and the Pelican Company, Peter Greenaway, Netherlands, UK, France and Croatia

Independent Section - Alice Nella Città

Best Film: Meu pé de laranja Lima (My Sweet Orange Tree), Marcos Berstein, Brazil
Special Mention: Pulce non c’è, Giuseppe Bonito, Italy

7th Rome Film Festival Lineup - Update 2

On November 11 was announced the second surprise film and is Du Zhan (Drug War) by Johnnie To. With this film the main competition has 15 films.

Today November 5th, the first of the two surprise films was announced and is a film by Feng Xiaogang (remember Aftershock?), check trailer to see that is another epic grandiose production, use link at the bottom of post.

Today, October 31, organizers announced complete Jury for the main competition and two more films in the official selection out of competition.

Post has the Cinema XXI complete lineup.

Some of us are very curious to learn how the festival will evolve under the artistic direction of recently appointed Marco Müller; this year official selection will give us a first glimpse on what he was able to do to revitalize the festival and maybe bring it to a different level than before, more similar to the big three festivals.

With no further comments let's take a look at this year festival lineup.

Official Selection

Competition
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Roman Coppola, USA
Aku no kyôten (Lesson of Evil), Takashi Miike, Japan
Alì ha gli occhi azzurri, Claudio Giovannesi, Italy
毒战 Du Zhan (Drug War), Johnnie To, China and Hong Kong
E la Chiamano Estate, Paolo Franchi, Italy
Ixjana, Józef Skolimowski and Michał Skolimowski, Poland (aka Ixjana z piekla rodem)
Mai Morire, Enrique Rivero, Mexico
Main Dans La Main (Hand in Hand), Valérie Donzelli, France
Marfa Girl, Larry Clark, USA
The Motel Life, Gabriel Polsky and Alan Polsky, USA
Небесные жены луговых мари Nebesnye Ženy Lugovykh Mari (Celestial Wives of Meadow Mari), Alexey Fedorchenko, Russia
Un Enfant de Toi (You, Me and US), Jacques Doillon, France
Вечное возвращение. Кинопробы Večnoe Vozvraščenie (Eternal Homecoming), Kira Muratova, Ukraine
Il Volto di Un'Altra, Pappi Corsicato, Italy
一九四二 Yi Wu Si Er (Back to 1942), Feng Xiaogang, China

Also there are two (2) surprise films (will be in competition, titles are being withheld until last minute "in order to avoid problems from national censors")

Jury
President: Jeff Nichols, writer and director, USA
Timur Bekmambetov, director and producer, Russia, Kazakhstan
Valentina Cervi, actress, Italy
Chris Fujiwara, critic and festival director, USA
Leila Hatami, actress, Iran
P.J. Hogan, director, Australia
Edgardo Cozarinsky, writer and director, Argentina

Out of Competition
Opening Film: В ожидании моря V Ožidanii Morja (Waiting for the Sea), Bakhtiar Khudojnazarov, Russia, Germany, Belgium, France, Kazakhstan and Ukraine
Closing Film: Una Pistola en Cada Mano, Cesc Gay, Spain

La Bande de Jotas (The Gang of the Jotas), Marjane Satrapi, France
Black Star, Francesco Castellani, Italy
Bullet to the Head, Walter Hill, USA
Le Guetteur (The Lookout), Michele Placido, France
Mental, P.J. Hogan, Australia
Populaire, Regis Roinsard, France
Rise of the Guardians, Peter Ramsey, USA
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Bill Condon, USA
Tom le Cancre, Manuel Pradal, France

CinemaXXI
A competitive selection of films devoted to new trends in world cinema embracing various genres and lengths, CinemaXXI will focus on works that reflect the continuous reinvention of cinema in the contemporary audiovisual landscape. CinemaXXI (Competition and Out of Competition) welcomes feature-length, medium-length and short films.

Feature Films

In Competition
A Walk In The Park, Amos Poe, USA
Avanti Popolo, Michael Wahrmann, Brazil
Bloody Daughter, Stéphanie Argerich, France and Switzerland
Gegewart (Consequence), Thomas Heise, Germany
Goltzius and the Pelican Company, Peter Greenaway, Netherlands
Jianshi Liu Baiyuan (Judge Archer), Xu Haofeng, China
Jungle Love, Sherad Anthony Sanchez, Philippines
Nichnasti Pa'am Lagan (Once I Entered A Garden), Avi Mograbi, Israel, France and Switzerland
El Ojo del Tiburon, Alejo Hoijman, Spain and Argentina
Panihida, Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu, Germany and Moldavia
Photo, Carlos Saboga, Portugal and France
Picas (Pizzas), Laila Pakalnina, Latvia
Suspension of Disbelief, Mike Figgis, UK
Танец Дели Tanets Deli (Delhi Dance), Ivan Vyrypaev, Russia
Tasher Desh, Kaushik Mukherjee, India
Tutto Parla Di Te, Alina Marazzi, Italy

Out of Competition
O Batuque Dos Astros, Julio Bressane, Brazil
O Fantasma Do Novais, Margarida Gil, Portugal

Short Film Collections

In Competition
Tar, Edna Biesold, Sarah-Violet Bliss, Bruce Thierry Cheung, Gabrielle Demeestere, Alexis
Gamb; supervision James Franco, USA

Out of Competition
Opening Film: Centro Histórico (Historic Centre), Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice, Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal
Guimaraes Transversal, Gabriel Abrantes, Maracos Barbosa and Paulo Abreu, Portugal
Historias de Guimaraes, Tiago Pereira, João Nicolau, João Botelho, Portugal
Mundo Invisível (Invisible World), Wim Wenders, Theo Angelopoulos, Atom Egoyan, Manoel De Oliveira, Guy Maddin, Marco Bechis, Laís Bodanzky, Maria de Medeiros, Jerzy Stuhr, Gian Vittorio Baldi, Brazil
Random Acts, Marina Abramovic, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Zineb Sedira, Johan Grimonprez, Shahryar Nashat, Lucy Harvey, Rachel Mayeri, Lewis Klahr, Mark Leckey, Semiconductor, Sarah Wood, Young-Hae Chang, Richard Billingham and others, UK

Medium-Length and Short Films

In Competition
Da Vinci, Yuri Ancarani, Italy, 20’
Dossier Scolaire (School Files), di Noëlle Pujol and Andreas Bolm, France and Germany, 21’
Dreams, James Franco, UK, 1’
El Ruido de las Estrellas Me Aturde, Eduardo Williams, Argentina, 20’
Eternità, Galina Myznikova and Sergey Provorov (Provmyza), Russia, 36'
GHL, Lotte Schreiber, Austria, 17’
Ishi to uta to Peta (Stone, Song and Peta), Takuya Dairiki and Takashi Miura, France and Japan, 60'
La Madre, Il Figlio e L'Architetto (The Mother, The Son and The Architect), Petra Noordkamp, Netherlands, 16'
Mitote (Mexican Ritual), Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 53'
Montaña en Sombra (Mountain In Shadow), Lois Patiño, Spain, 14'
The Moon Has Its Reasons, Lewis Klahr, UK, 3'
The Museum of Imagination, Amit Dutta, India, 20'
Não estamos sonhando (We are Not Dreaming), Luiz Pretti, Brazil, 12'
Narmada, Manon Ott and Grégory Cohen, France, 47'
Nature of Aberration, Krissakorn Thinthupthai, Thailand, 13'
The Ogre's Feathers, Michael Almereyda, USA, 20'
Quatro Horas Descalço (Four Hours Barefoot), Ico Costa, France and Portugal, 15'
Rhinoceros, Kevin Jerome Everson, USA, 6'
Some Part Of Us Will Have Become, Semiconductor, UK, 3'
Tagalog, Gym Lumbera, Philippines, 45'
I Topi Lasciano La Nave, Zapruder, Italy, 32'
Il Viaggio della Signorina Vila, Elisabetta Sgarbi, Italy, 60'
Waterscope Transitions, Carsten Aschmann, Germany, 22'

Out of Competition
Steekspel (Tricked), Paul Verhoeven, Netherlands, 52'
All Sides of the Road 3D, OpenEndedGroup, USA, 12'
Plant 3D, OpenEndedGroup, USA, 17'
Pletora, Il Dono 3D, Zapruder, Italy, 15
Tanti Futuri Possibili. Con Renato Nicolini, Gianfranco Rosi, Italy, 30'
Waves 3D, OpenEndedGroup, USA, 2'

Jury
President: Douglas Gordon, visual artist, UK
Hans Hurch, film programmer, Austria
Ed Lachman, cinematographer, Germany
Andrea Lissoni, historian, curator, festival director, Italy
Emily Jacir, director, social intervention, performance, more,

Best First and Second Film Jury
President: Matthew Modine, director and actor, USA
Laura Amelia Guzmán, producer and Director, Dominican Republic
Stefania Rocca, actress, Italy
Alice Rohrwacher, director, Italy
Tanya Seghatchian, producer, UK

Independent Section - Alice Nella Città

Competition
Animals, Marçal Forés, Spain
Baby Girl, Macdara Vallely, USA
Comme Un Lion (Little Lion), Samuel Collardey, France
Igual Si Llueve (Even If It Rains), Fernando A. Gatti, Argentina
Innocents, Chen-hsi Wong, Singapore
Jeunesse (Youth), Justine Malle, France
Kid, Fien Troch, Belgium
La Pasion de Michelangelo (The Passion of Michelangelo), Esteban Larraín, Chile
Meu Pe de Laranja Lima (My Sweet Orange Tree), Marcos Berstein, Brazil
Pulce Non C'E, Giuseppe Bonito, Italy
Strings, Rob Savage, UK
You and Me Forever, Kaspar Munk, Denmark

Out of Competition
Du Vent Dans Mes Mollets (The Dandelions), Carine Tardieu, France
Wreck-It Ralph, Rich Moore, USA

Special Program
Kirikou et Les Homes et Les Femes (Kirikou - And The Men And Women), Michel Ocelot, France
Le Petit Prince - La Planete Su Serpent, Pierre-Alain Chartier, France

New Cinema Network
This year NCN presents a selection of 20 projects from all over the world, evaluated and chosen by the selection committee appointed by Marco Müller, Marie-Pierre Duhamel and Sandra Hebron with the staff of New Cinema Network. As for the international scene, the projects selection features an ample spectrum of countries, themes, styles, genres and suggestions. There are projects by some very well-known outstanding directors like Marco Bellochio, Lisandro Alonso and Jia Zang ke

Almost Anonymous, Jia Zhang ke, China
Another World, Alexis Dos Santos, Argentina
Close Far Away, Jens Assur, Sweden
Conformista, Shangjun Cai, China
Io, Clay Jeter, USA
Iron, Alejandro Fernandez Almendras, Chile
Land, Babak Jalali, UK
Mordogan, Jessica Krummaker, Germany
Pagliacci, Marco Bellocchio, Italia
Poisonous Roses, Fawzi Saleh, Egypt
The Room On A Tree, Amit Dutta, India
School Town, Jian Liu, China
Sin Titulo, Lisandro Alonso, Argentina
Il Sogno del Pesce Rosso, Gianni Cardillo, Italy
Sword of Honor, Haofeng Xu, China
Tito Il Piccolo, Paola Randi, Italy
La Vita Ti Arriva Addosso, Paolo Sassanelli, Italy
The Vacationers, Luis Galter, Spain
Vergine Giurata, laura Bispuri, Italy
A Project (TBA), Franco Maresco, Italy

To check the official announcement that includes more films and events in the independent sections plus in the official selection Prospettive Italia, go here. Suggest to also check official site as there are more films listed there.

My first impression without reading about each film is that the festival has changed as seems there are a few more known directors releasing their films in the festival plus this time festival seems to have films from more countries around the world.

According to the released information here are some interesting figures from this edition:
Feature Films: 59 world premieres and 5 international premieres, for a total of 64 feature films
12 Medium-length films
23 Short films
These numbers really change the panorama for this festival, especially when you consider that the 13 films in competition are all world premieres.

Surely I am very curious about this year festival and posted too early as there is no films info at the official site yet. So I will be checking and updating post as soon as they publish information.

Check info and trailers @MOC.

The Angels' Share

When Ken Loach does his particular kind of realism his films are not easy to watch especially when you consider the implications of what you are seeing. This film is no exception but what really surprises viewers familiar with director films is that movie is very funny! I was no exception. I really laugh hard with this movie and as some of you know, is not easy to make me laugh.

Humor has always been a great vehicle to portrait difficult matters but as we know humor is also a very personal matter. I believe that the kind of humor that Loach uses in this film is of the more universal kind that could appeal to wider audiences while still get the strong message about the bleak future that many young people currently face all over the world and especially in the so-called "First World" countries, those countries were young people used to have a future and now they don't.

Consider that I laughed hard even when know that surely didn't get most of the funny things happening with language as I am not Scottish and was impossible for me to get the many subtleties related to their culture and the use of language. This is one movie that wish could have seen with some Scottish friends that could -later- tell me more nuances about this great film. So if you have the opportunity to watch film with Scots around you I highly recommend you do it. Still, if you don't also know that movie could and will make you laugh enough to enjoy the ride and get the strong message.

Film tells the story of Robbie that barely escapes a prison sentence and goes to do some community service where he finds some pals that are all in a similar situation as himself. He and his small group of friends were given a last chance and you have no idea how well they take advantage of it. If I tell you more perhaps you could question the story plausibility but I can assure that while watching and after you will not as you have to remember that you are in the hands of a master filmmaker that plays with non-actor Paul Branningan (Robbie) extremely well as he also does with us viewers.

Actors performances are incredibly good and think that urban Scotland never looked so great as in this film that obviously has high production values; but is how Loach was able to almost perfectly assemble all the pieces what makes this film a very enjoyable ride. Can't help but tell you that perhaps this is the most mainstream Loach film but in this case I really do not mind as he made me laugh while highly enjoying the ride.

This 2012 Cannes in competition film is a must be seen movie from master storyteller and filmmaker Ken Loach, both to director's fans as well as to those that are not familiar with his movies as I know that after watching this film some will be interested in seeing his previous ones.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

69th Venice International Film Festival Award Winners

It is known as Murphy's Law but who could imagine that while watching the fest streaming my Internet connection AND the computer BOTH will fail? That's exactly what happened. Good that I have a laptop because none of the "i" devices (Phone or Pad) worked with the streaming, LOL!

Nevertheless I'm glad the fest is over and here are the winners as published in the Official festival site.

VENEZIA 69 (The Competition)

Golden Lion for Best Film: 피에타 Pieta, Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea

Special Jury Prize: Paradies: Glaube (Paradise: Faith), Ulrich Seidl, Austria, France and Germany

Silver Lion for Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson for The Master, USA

Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Hadas Yaron in Lemale Et Ha'Chalal (Fill The Void), Rama Burshtein, Israel

Osella for Best Screenplay: Après mai (Something in the Air), Olivier Assayas, France
Osella for Best Cinematography:  È stato il figlio, Daniele Ciprì, Italy

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Fabrizio Falco in È stato il figlio, Daniele Ciprì, Italy and Bella Addormentata (Dormant Beauty), Marco Bellocchio, Italy and France

Lion of the Future – Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Film:  Küf (Mold), Ali Aydin, Turkey and Germany

Orizzonti Awards

Best Film: San Zi Mei (Three Sisters), Bing Wang, France, Hong Kong and China
Special Jury Prize: Tango Libre, Frédéric Fonteyne, Belgium, France and Luxembour
Best Short Film: Cho-De (Invitation), Min-Young Yoo, South Korea, 16'
Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards: Titloi Telous (Out of Frame), Yorgos Zois, Greece, 10'

Autonomous Sections

9th Giornate degli Autori - Venice Days
Europe Cinemas Label: Crawl, Hervé Lasgouttes, France

27th Settimana Internazionale Della Critica - Venice International Film Critics Week
RaroVideo Audience Award: Äta sova dö (Eat Sleep Die), Gabriela Pichler, Sweden

Collateral Awards

FIPRESCI Prizes
Best Film from Venezia 69: The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
Best Film from Orizzonti and International Critics' Week: L'Intervallo, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy, Switzerland and Germany

CICAE Award: Wadjda, Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Arabia and Germany

SIGNIS Award: To The Wonder, Terrence Malick, USA
Special Mention: Lemale Et Ha'Chalal (Fill The Void), Rama Burshtein, Israel

Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola Award: Pieta, Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea
La Navicella - Venezia Cinema Award: Sinapupunan (Thy Womb), Brillante Mendoza, Philippines
Queer Lion: 무게 Mooge (The Weight), Jeon Kyu-hwan, South Korea

AIF - Forfilmfest Award: L'Intervallo, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy, Switzerland and Germany
Brian Award: Bella Addormentata (Dormant Beauty), Marco Bellocchio, Italy and France
Christopher D. Smithers Foundation Award: Low Tide, Roberto Minervini, USA, Italy and Belgium
CIT UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award: L'Intervallo, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy, Switzerland and Germany
Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award: Après mai (Something in the Air), Olivier Assayas, France
Green Drop Award: La Cinquiéme Saison, Peter Brosens and Jessica Hope Woodworth, Belgium, Netherlands and France
Interfilm Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue: Wadjda, Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Arabia and Germany
Laterna Magica (CGS) Award: L'Intervallo, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy, Switzerland and Germany
Lina Mangiacapre Award: Queen of Montreuil, Sòlveig Anspach, France
Open Award: The Company You Keep, Robert Redford, USA
Premio Cinematografico Civitas Vitae Prossima Award: Terramatta, Constanza Quatriglio, Italy
UK-Italy Creative Industries Award - Best Innovative Budget Award: L'Intervallo, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy, Switzerland and Germany
YouTube First Your Film Festival Grand Prize: La Culpa (The Guilt), David Victori, Spain

Arca CinemaGiovani Award
Best Film Venezia 69: La Cinquiéme Saison, Peter Brosens and Jessica Hope Woodworth, Belgium, Netherlands and France
Best Italian Film: La città ideale, Luigi Lo Cascio, Italy

Biografilm Lancia Award:(tie)
La nave dolce (The Human Cargo), Daniele Vicari, Italy and Albania
Bad 25, Spike Lee, USA

CinemAvvenire Awards
Best Film Venezia 69: Paradies: Glaube (Paradise: Faith), Ulrich Seidl, Austria, France and Germany
Best Film Cinema for Peace and Diversity Richness: Wadjda, Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Arabia and Germany

FEDIC Award: L'Intervallo, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy, Switzerland and Germany
Special Mention: Bellas Mariposas, Salvatore Mereu, Italy

Francesco Pasinetti (SNGCI) Awards
Best Film: L'Intervallo, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy, Switzerland and Germany
Best Documentary: La nave dolce (The Human Cargo), Daniele Vicari, Italy and Albania
Best Actor: Valerio mastandrea in Gli Equilibristi, Ivano de Matteo, Italy and France
Pasinetti Speciale: Clarisse by Liliana Cavani, Italy

Future Film Festival Digital Award: Bad 25, Spike Lee, USA
Special Mention: Spring Breakers, Harmony Korine, USA

Giovani Giurati del Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award: The Company You Keep, Robert Redford, USA
Special Mention: Toni Sevillo

Mouse d'Oro Award: Pieta, Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea
Mouse d'Argento Award: Anton tut ryadom (Anton's Right Here) by Lyubov Arkus, Russia

P. Nazareno Taddei Award: Pieta, Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea
Special Mention: Sinapupunan (Thy Womb), Brillante Mendoza, Philippines

Other Awards

Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: Francesco Rosi
Robert Bresson Award for Lifetime Achievements: Ken Loach
Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award: Spike Lee
Persol Award: Michael Cimino
SNGCI Pietro Bianchi Award: Gianni Amelio
Gucci Award for Women in Cinema: Thelma Schoonmaker
L'Oreal Paris Award for Cinema: Giulia Bevilacqua
Gillo Pontecorvo - Arcobalento Latino Award: Laura Delli Colli

To read official announcement go here. As got several collateral awards it's impossible not to be curious about Leonardo Di Costanzo's L'Intervallo, will pay attention to this film. Good.

Awards not Associated with Festival

Independent Critics Award Bisato d'Oro
Best Film: Bellas Mariposas, Salvatore Mereu, Italy
Best Director: Jazmin Lopez for Leones, Argentina, France and Netherlands
Best Actress: Nora Aunor in Sinapupunan (Thy Womb), Brillante Mendoza, Philippines

Day 10 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

The last day of the festival and all films in main competition have been screened, at least to the press. Is time to close this festival that seemed so promising in paper, before started, as gave the impression that was "different". Indeed was quite different but in my opinion the difference strongly tilted to the not-positive side after the second day. Hope that next year organizers review the fest to re-formulate the structure of the oldest festival in the world. Now I'm really curious to find what will happen with the Rome Film Festival and soon enough, November 9, all of us will find out.

As you know in previous posts the two Autonomous Sections closed today and some awards have been already announced. I'm still curious to find who wins what as no matter what happens with fest a Lion in any color plus la Copa Volti are still great honors in the cinema industry.

Venezia 69

Passion by Brian De Palma

Obviously must be seen for me as I see everything with Noomi Rapace and well, older films by De Palma are good so there is always hope that he does something different to his latest films. My concern is that film is a remake of a film by Alain Corneau, Crime d'Amour with two of my favorite actresses, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier.

When I leaned about this film, long before Venice fest, was very difficult for me to imagine Noomi playing the role Ludivine played; but harder was imagining Rachel McAdams playing Kristin Scott Thomas role! I do not particularly like any of the Rachel McAdams performances I have seen and on top can't imagine she acting beside a great actress like Noomi. I know both were already in one film but both were terrible and as far as I remember they had no scene together.

Perceptions started to get better when I learned that De Palma changed the story, good as literal remakes are always awful. But still have problems imagining Rapace and McAdams together. Will be until after seeing movie that will know if these two actresses have chemistry, as will be indispensable for the steamy scenes but also for the whole film.

As reviews have started to appear I learned that some are mildly positive while others are mildly negative. Key word is mild. Seems no one is excited enough to be positive or negative. Not really full-reading reviews but since I know the story, did peak a little to find what they say. There is one headline that made me laugh out loud "It's very much a film for women"; funny headline, but then if I think about Corneau's film have to agree with it. So maybe De Palma film is not that much different.

So, what do I expect from this movie? Good/great steamy lesbian interest scenes and really hope for a great Noomi Rapace performance as role and De Palma could make Noomi to do its best performance in English, up to date. Watched Noomi Rapace interview video and best news are that she's currently filming a Swedish movie! Great, miss her in any other language that is not English. Anyway the synopsis.

An erotic thriller in the tradition of Dressed to Kill and Basic Instinct, Brian De Palma’s Passion tells the story of a deadly power struggle between two women in the dog-eat-dog world of international business. Christine possesses the natural elegance and casual ease associated with one who has a healthy relationship with money and power. Innocent, lovely and easily exploited, her admiring protegée Isabelle is full of cutting edge ideas that Christine has no qualms about stealing. They’re on the same team, after all... Christine takes pleasure in exercising control over the younger woman, leading her one step at a time ever deeper into a game of seduction and manipulation, dominance and humiliation. But when Isabelle falls into bed with one of Christine’s lovers, war breaks out. On the night of the murder, Isabelle is at the ballet, while Christine receives an invitation to seduction. From whom? Christine loves surprises. Naked she goes to meet the mystery lover waiting in her bedroom...

Film will also be in Toronto soon, so more reviews will be available soon and maybe those will be more extreme and less mild. Sigh.



Un Giorno Speciale by Francesca Comencini

According to what I have seen from this film really doesn't call my attention as seems like a regular Italian film, which is not bad but is not the kind of movies that make my excited to see them. The synopsis.

Gina and Marco are both very young and are determined to be “someone.” They meet one morning in a shabby suburb at the gates of Rome. She has an appointment with a politician who could put a good word in for her and help her enter the entertainment world; he is the driver who has to take her to the meeting. It is the moment both have been waiting for: their first day of work and their entry into the adult world. But nothing goes according to plan. The politician, stuck in a never-ending parliamentary session, keeps postponing the meeting, leaving the two young people in a limbo of waiting that soon turns into a special day. It will take them from the provinces to the heart of the capital, in which the two of them will get to know each other. But the immediate future is always lying in ambush. Just when Marco and Gina have revealed their true selves and entered under each other’s skin, forgetting about everything else— including that appointment which just a few hours earlier had seemed so important to them—the eagerly anticipated phone call comes crashing down on them. Later, when Marco takes Gina back home, night has fallen and so has the silence between them. Their lives have changed.

The director's statement

I wanted to make a simple, uncomplicated and seemingly spontaneous film that looked a bit messy. In reality, it is a written and well-constructed film in which a small window was left open for any changes. I wanted to make a fi lm about two young people on the outskirts who get closer to the centre. I wanted to depict their day through delicate touches and make a film that was precise, light and quick both in its narrative arc—a single day—and in the rhythm of the story. I thought this was the only way I’d be able to capture something that lightly and rapidly takes hold of our lives, making them heavy and timeless.

News

L'Oreal Paris Award went to Giulia Bevilacqua.

Photo

Actresses Josephine de la Baume and Roxane Mesquida attend Xan Cassavettes' Kiss of the Dammed photocall today and share a kiss for the press at yesterday red carpet.

6th Queer Lion Award Winner

Today the award winner was announced by organizers.

무게 Mooge (The Weight), Jeon Kyu-hwan, South Korea (G, T)

The strong drama "The Weight" presented in the Venice Days sidebar of the 69. Venice International Film Festival, won the Queer Lion Award 2012.
The jury, headed by directors Daniele Coluccini & Matteo Botrugno and composed by Queer Lion founder Daniel N. Casagrande and Marco Busato, general delegate of cultural association CinemArte, unanimously awarded the prize "for dealing in a poetic and convincing way with an extreme language covering topics as diverse as they often are taboos, and for depicting, in a way as straightforward as it is devoid of morbidity, a gallery of borderline characters looking for their own corner of the world where living without being judged for their differences."

Film seems interesting beyond the genre and probably will watch as soon as possible. To read the official announcement go here.

---///---
8/21 - Lineup
The preliminary list of films that will be competing for this year Biennale collateral award has been released and includes seven films with LGTB interest. Before listing the films and considering what is being commented in the 2012 Queer Palm post, will share how this award has been improving their organization as well as obtained the support of four entities that improves their recognition as an award. Consider that the award is still "young" (especially compared to the Teddy) plus happens in a country that hosts the Head of the Catholic Church and perhaps you will better realize their task as an organization.

Queer Lion, the collateral award of the 69th Venice International Film Festival dedicated to movies "with homosexual themes or queer interest" is now in its sixth year, yet again under the prestigious patronage of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Veneto Region, Province of Venice, Venice Municipality and the National Union of Italian Film Critics.

The preliminary list contains some films that I consider "very good films" that obviously are not only must be seen for me but if they have what organizers call "steamy lesbian sex scenes" then definitively is a plus to stimulate more my interest.

The Films

Official Selection - In Competition
Passion, Brian de Palma, France and Germany (L)

Official Selection - Out of Competition
Cherchez Hortense, Pascal Bonitzer, France (G)
Den skaldede frisør (Love is All You Need), Susanne Bier, Denmark and Sweden

Venice Days
Acciaio (Steel), Stefano Mordini, Italy (L)
무게 Mooge (The Weight), Jeon Kyu-hwan, South Korea (G, T)
6 Sull'Autobus, Simone Dante Antonelli, Giacomo Bisordi, Rita de Donato, Irene di Lelio, Antonio Ligas, Emiliano Russo, Italy (Short Collection) - Short film: Unghie (Nails) by Emiliano Russo (T)

Venice International Film Critics Week
Kiss Of The Dammed, Xan Cassavetes, USA (L)

The Jury
Presidents: Matto Brotugno, director and Daniele Coluccini, director
Daniel N. Casagrande, creator of "Queer Lion Club"
Marco Busato, General Delegate of cultural association CinemArte

As mentioned this is a preliminary list that will be updated as soon as more information becomes available; updates will be announced at the award site and will update this post accordingly. One film that seems will be also included is Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine but we will have to wait until is confirmed.

Yes, Brian de Palma's Passion is one of the two films with "steamy lesbian sex scenes" and my imagination went "wild" with the idea of Noomi Rapace involved in some of those scenes; definitively will have to control my expectations as above all, this is a Brian de Palma's film and that's the main reason why is must be seen for me.

The following is the catalog published by organizers with films info available in Italian and English.

Open publication

Day 9 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

In two more days the fest will close but today media attention will be less than before (if possible) as today Toronto fest starts and has not only more celebrities but an interesting -different to other years- lineup. The most surprising news I read today is about Robert Redford greeting the Italian President, check photo at the end of post.

Venezia 69

La Cinquiéme Saison by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth

Not much interested in watching this movie as I did not enjoyed his last film Altiplano, but maybe now that they returned to what they really know, Belgium, film could be interesting; besides the film premise seems could be interesting as another way to view where inevitability we are going and sooner than later, we will arrive.. The synopsis.

A mysterious calamity strikes: spring doesn’t come. In a village deep in the Ardennes the cycle of nature is capsized. WINTER—In which Alice, a farmer’s daughter, and Thomas, a reclusive teenager, are in love. And in which the annual bonfire celebrating the end of winter fails to burn. SPRING—In which the bees vanish, the seeds won’t grow and the cows refuse to give milk. And in which the first victim falls. SUMMER—In which a passing flower vendor brings ephemeral joy. And in which insects abound, panic mounts and violence explodes. FALL—In which all civility has dissolved. And in which the angels take flight.

Film closes a trilogy that started in Mongolia and continued in Peru. The directors' statement.

What would happen if spring didn’t come? After shooting Khadak in Mongolia and Altiplano in Peru it was a necessity to conclude our trilogy in the place where we live in Belgium. In La cinquième saison nature takes the upper hand in its protest against man’s arrogance. By doing nothing, giving nothing, by denying the earth fertility, nature sparks the rapid implosion of a whole community. Emerging from the wreckage are a few souls who take flight. Their fate is unknown.

Maybe is not another "end of the world" movie but surely and perhaps with a bit of fantasy, film will shows us a perspective of what we are doing to Planet Earth. Finally watched trailer and as expected images are great, hope story doesn't interfere with great images as happened with Altiplano

Sinapupunan (Thy Womb) by Brillante Mendoza

I have seen very interesting movies by Mendoza but somehow wonder if this film will be one that I could enjoy. The synopsis first, the director's statement next.

Shaleha Sarail hails from a water-village in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. The province is a seaweed producing area in the southern most part of the Philippines down to the Malaysian and Indonesian archipelagos. A woman of mature years, experiencing a 3rd miscarriage, Shaleha agonizes that she can’t bear a child. Though an adoptive parent to her nephew, she still feels that her husband Bangas An desires to be a father. To fulfill her husband’s only wish and to be blessed by Allah as having a child is a tangible proof of divine grace, Shaleha decides to march to a different drummer. Her resolve is to find a new partner for her husband. Night and day, she and her husband sail island, floating-village, and nearby communities in search of a fertile woman. Providentially, Shaleha finds the girl as recommended by friends. But on the eve of her husband’s second marriage to Mersila, a gnawing jealousy consumes Shaleha.

As a film, Sinapupunan examines the opposing natures of two women (Shaleha’s sterility against Mersila’s fertility) to reflect the prevailing condition in Tawi-Tawi, a place endowed with natural beauty and rich resources but mired in economic and socio-political crises. A quiet hell of a paradise, Sinapupunan’s “birth place” and its environs are constant reminders of yesterday’s conflict that has remained unresolved up to the present.

Surely will give film a try hoping that story will be interesting and that Mendoza goes back to his top form as a filmmaker. There is a so-called trailer around but is not and images look with very low quality, was able to see the official trailer that debuted at festival and yes, images are stunning! Perhaps is Mendoza's most visually appealing film to date. Great. Unfortunately can't embed trailer to trailer blog from source. Found a HD video that almost looks like the one I saw. Check trailer blog.

Out of Competition

The Company You Keep by Robert Redford

Definitively a mainstream movie from America but worth mention is that Julie Christie and Richard Jenkins also are in film along Redford and the young kid that I've been waiting for him to stop doing Summer movies, Shia LaBeouf. The very long synopsis for you, as won't read it.

Jim Grant is a civil rights lawyer and single father raising his daughter in the tranquil suburbs of Albany, NY. His world is turned upside down, when a brash young reporter named Ben Shepard, exposes Grant’s true identity as a former 1970s antiwar radical fugitive wanted for murder. After living for more than thirty years underground as a lawyer, Grant must now go on the run. He is the center of a nationwide manhunt and with the FBI in hot pursuit, he sets off on a cross-country journey to track down the one person that can clear his name. Shepard knows the significance of the national news story he has exposed and for a journalist, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Hell-bent on making a name for himself, he is willing to stop at nothing to capitalize on it. He digs deep into Grant’s past. Despite warnings from his editor and threats from the FBI, Shepard relentlessly tracks Grant across the country. As Grant reopens old wounds and reconnects with former members of his group, the Weather Underground, Shepard realizes something about this man is just not adding up. With the FBI closing in, Shepard uncovers the shocking secrets Grant has been keeping for the past three decades. As the Grant and Shepard come face to face in the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, they each must come to terms with who they really are.

The director's statement seems more interesting and yes I read it.

I’ve always been drawn to stories about America that dig under the surface and focus in on the gray areas— exploring the complex picture versus the more oft used two-dimensional one—the truth (writ large) that defines who we really are. This is a story about facing the repercussions of our sometimes misguided choices of youth and how the challenges of love and conviction permeate time and are at once perilous and inescapable.

No doubt I'll be watching this movie but not rushing to do so.

Not So Serious

I'm starting to worry, no Noomi in Venice and tomorrow is the premiere; not even Brian de Palma or Rachel McAdams. Strange because photos start to appear the day before the photocall, press conference, and premiere.

Photo

Robert Redford greeting Italy's President.