(Continued From Cover) 14 This year’s Venice Film Festival (its 82nd actual event) unspools on August 27 for 10 days and, as always, awards recipients will be eagerly anticipated. In its history, the festival took a couple of early non-award years — except for unofficial audience votes on what they liked best — until the awards were officially introduced in 1934 (however, not in the number we have now come to expect, as they came in gradually over the years). An outgrowth of the Venice Biennale (which began in 1895), the film section went out on its own in 1932 (though today’s Biennale includes Italian and international art, architecture, dance, music, and theater). Incidentally, the first film screened in Venice was the 1931 movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Rouben Mamoulian, and the first color film shown was A Star Is Born in 1937. Though held up during the Second World War, Venice did go live during COVID, admittedly (and not surprisingly) attracting fewer attendees, all of whom wore masks. There was another “interruption” back in 1968 when a group of Vietnam war protesters delayed proceedings for a while. Today, the Venice Film Festival (known locally as Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia) is perceived by many as a leader of prestige and innovation within the global film industry. Over the years, Venice has been bold and innovative in several areas — including, in the 1960s and 1970s, when it welcomed the “rebellious” New Wave cinema, which served as a launch pad for directors who would later go on to become famous in the industry. Venice, for example, screened the first Japanese film shown at a festival in the West — Akira Kurosawa’s Rashômon, even though Rashomon was unique in the sense that Venice only accepts films that have never been presented at any other international film festival, cinematographic event, or had any form of commercial distribution or exhibition — meaning they have never been seen by audiences before their premiere at the festival. Documentaries are not forgotten, or given short shrift, as they are deemed important to the culture of film and receive special attention at Venice, with a dedicated section. There’s also a showcase for new talents under the Venice Submersive banner, with Vidocq becoming the first film shot entirely in a digital format to be shown at the festival (in 2001). More importantly, for international attendees and buyers, films are screened in multiple languages. In 2017, a new section for virtual reality films was introduced. Initially this section was called Venice Virtual Reality, but in 2022, the organization announced a change in name to Venice Immersive and was first amongst the “Big Five” international film festivals worldwide to introduce virtual reality content into a film festival program. Venice also led the field in placing an emphasis on sustainability, with initiatives to reduce the event’s carbon footprint. In 2018, a television streaming service’s film broke another Venice Film Festival norm, initially by being accepted, but further, by winning an award — none other than the prestigious Venice Golden Lion. Roma, from director Alfonso Cuarón, became the first movie produced by a streaming service, Netflix, to win anything, let alone the top award at a major film festival. Surprisingly, no other smallscreen production has managed to attract such attention since. The main Venice Film Festival awards include The Golden Lion; The Silver Lion; The Marcello Mastroianni Award, recognizing the best emerging actor or actress; and the Special Jury Prize, for a film that demonstrates exceptional artistic merit. Sponsored awards include the Campari Passion for Film award, which this year is going to American director Gus Van Sant; and the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award, which this year will be bestowed upon American artist and director Julian Schnabel. In total, the 2025 Venice Film Festival will feature 21 films competing in the main competition (Venezia 82) for the Golden Lion. In addition to the main competition, the line-up also includes 30 out-of-competition films, 19 films in the Orizzonti section (new trends and talents), and 69 immersive works in the Venice Immersive line-up. The international jury of the Venice 82 Competition will be chaired by U.S. director and screenwriter Alexander Payne, and will also include French director and screenwriter Stéphane Brizé; Italian director and screenwriter Maura Delpero; Romanian director, screenwriter and producer Cristian Mungiu; Iranian director and writer Mohammad Rasoulof; Brazilian actress, writer and screenwriter Fernanda Torres; and Chinese actress Zhao Tao. Chaired by French director and screenwriter Julia Ducournau, the Orizzonti International Jury will also consist of Italian director and video artist Yuri Ancarani, Argentine film critic Fernando Enrique Juan Lima, Australian director Shannon Murphy, and U.S. artist and filmmaker RaMell Ross. Chaired by Scottish director Charlotte Wells, the Venezia Opera Prima “Luigi De Laurentiis” International Jury will also be composed of French-Tunisian director, producer and former journalist Erige Sehiri; and Italian director and screenwriter Silvio Soldini. (By Mike Reynolds) Over the years, Venice has been bold and innovative in several areas. VIDEOAGE September 2025 Venice Film Fest
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5