On Wednesday, September 2, the 77th Venice International Film Festival began its work on the Italian island of Lido.
The opening ceremony was hosted by the Italian actress Anna Folletta, known to the general public for her roles in the films "Perfect Strangers" and "The American".
Among the guests of the ceremony are seven art directors of the largest European film festivals.
They decided to unite on this day in solidarity with the global film industry, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The show will be the first major event in the world of cinema to be held offline after the lifting of restrictions caused by the pandemic.
This year, due to the epidemiological situation, the organizers of the festival were forced to introduce a number of changes in the procedure for holding the show.
So, in order to avoid a large crowd of people, tickets for shows can be purchased exclusively online.
The competition program has also been curtailed (last year it included 21 films) and the Sconfini (Without Borders) section has been canceled, which allows more screenings in other programs and ensures social distancing at all venues.
In addition, the VR section will be fully online this year.
It includes 44 projects from 24 countries.
All comers from September 2 to September 12 will be able to see 36 films, subject to registration on the website of the film festival.
The other eight are available only to guests of the show.
© Tiziana FABI / AFP
For the first time in 11 years, the festival will be opened by an Italian-made film - the drama of Daniele Luchetti "Family Knot" with Alba Rohrwacher and Silvio Orlando.
The film was selected for the out-of-competition feature film program.
18 paintings are presented in the main competition of the festival.
Among them is the historical drama "Dear Comrades!" By the Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky.
In the past, the director has participated in the Venice Film Festival more than once.
Three of his films ("House of Fools", "White Nights of the Postman Alexei Tryapitsyn" and "Paradise") were awarded at the show.
In addition to Konchalovsky, works by Hilal Baydarov, Emma Dante, Nicole Garcia, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Cornel Mundruzzo, Susanna Nikchiarelli, Claudio Noce, Gianfranco Rosi, Chloe Zhao and other directors are competing for the main prize of the festival - the Golden Lion.
The films of the main competition will be judged by an international jury headed by Australian actress Cate Blanchett.
The panel of judges also included American actor Matt Dillon, Austrian director Veronica Franz, British director Joanna Hogg, Italian writer Nicola Lajoya, German director Christian Petzold and French actress Ludivine Sagnier.
Ten films have been selected for the out-of-competition feature film program this year.
One of the most notable is the biographical drama The Duke directed by Roger Michelle with Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent and Finn Whitehead.
The section also features films by Anne Hui, Regina King, Kyle Rankin and other filmmakers.
One of the most intriguing premieres of the festival is the Spaniard Pedro Almodovar's new short film The Human Voice, starring Tilda Swinton.
The film was shot and edited in record time - after the restrictions were lifted.
© Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP
The section will show the Russian short animated film by Andrey Khrzhanovsky "Long Journey".
The characters in the tape are based on portraits, sketches and sketches by Federico Fellini.
Also, guests of the festival will enjoy the traditional section "Horizons", which includes 19 full-length feature films and 14 short films.
The first winners of the Venice Film Festival were announced earlier.
Honorary "Golden Lions" for their contribution to world cinema will be awarded to Hong Kong director and screenwriter Anne Hui and British actress Tilda Swinton.
Also, the American director and screenwriter Abel Ferrara, who directed the films Bad Lieutenant, Body Snatchers and Pasolini, will receive a special festival award.
He will receive the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Prize for innovative ideas in cinema.
In past years, awards have been given to Takeshi Kitano, Agnes Varda, Spike Lee, Al Pacino and others.
The Venice Festival is the oldest show in existence.
It was first held as part of the 1932 Venice Biennale, and later became an annual event.
Nevertheless, there were several breaks in its history.
In some cases, there was no competitive component at the festival.
In 2019, the main award of the festival, the Golden Lion, went to Todd Phillips's Joker.
The tape was also awarded the Soundtrack Stars Award.
Russian filmmakers have repeatedly become laureates of the Venice Film Festival.
The paintings of Alexander Sokurov, Andrei Tarkovsky, Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Zvyagintsev were awarded with "Golden Lions".
Prizes for directing were awarded to Andrei Konchalovsky, Alexei German Jr., Nikolai Ekk and Alexander Ptushko.
Some Soviet and Russian actors were also awarded.