Stars gather for the Venice Film Festival
Story by Lizzie Guilfoyle
STARS of the silver screen have gathered in Italy for the 67th Venice Film Festival.
For the first time, the festival opens with three screenings – Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller Black Swan starring Natalie Portman, Hong Kong director Andrew Lau’s The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, and Robert Rodriguez’s Machete starring Jessica Alba.
Some 79 films are expected to premiere during the festival’s 11-day run (September 1 to September 11), 22 of which are being shown in competition. These include director Sofia Coppola’s comeback movie, Somewhere, about a hard-living Hollywood actor who re-examines his life after his 11 year-old daughter surprises him with a visit. It stars Michelle Monaghan and Benicio Del Toro.
The main award is, of course, the prestigious Golden Lion prize, which Aronofsky won in 2008 for The Wrestler.
This year’s jury will be headed by director Quentin Tarantino (Resevoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds), who told the Reuters news agency: “There’s a lot of really exciting movies, it’s a fantastic line-up…I’ve been on a few juries and I love it. It’s a joy to me. But it’s work. We’re not here for vacation.”
The final film of this year’s festival will be an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, starring Dame Helen Mirren as a female Prospero, alongside Alfred Molina and Russell Brand.