Venice Film Festival 2018 (La Biennale)
Monday the 3rd
At Eternity’s Gate
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Day one of week two at La Biennale this year culminated with a return to Venice for self-styled American painter and director Julian Schnabel, returning to his artistic roots with an in competition premiere for‘At Eternity’s Gate’; a semi-biographical study of an artist and what it means to be one, centred on the events surrounding several of Vincent Van Gogh’s works, and the turmoil of the life led between them.
Schnabel was in attendance with producer Jon Kilik, editor Louise Kugelberg, cinematographer Benoit Delhomme and writer Jean-Claude Carrière, plus the film’s lead Willem Dafoe and his co-stars Lolita Chammah, Vladimir Consigny, Mads Mikkelsen and Emmanuelle Seigner. ‘At Eternity’s Gate’ is out on the 16th November in the US, with no UK date yet.
At Eternity’s Gate @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Sunset (Napszállta)
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After captivating global film festivals and award ceremonies alike in 2015 and 2016 with his haunting debut ‘Son of Saul’, Hungarian writer/director László Nemes made his first visit to the Lido as a feature filmmaker on Monday in Golden Lion contention with a premiere of period drama ‘Sunset’—set in Budapest of 1913, where and aspiring young milliner, looking to restore her family legacy and carve her place in the world, is confronted by an unknown past and an empire on the precipice of great change . . . and tragedy. Nemes was joined by his stars Vlad Ivanov, Juli Jakab, Susanne Wuest and Christian Harting, ‘Sunset’ is out on the 27th of September in Hungary, with no UK or US dates yet.
Sunset @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Dragged Across Concrete
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Monday also saw the latest brutal exploitation film revivalism effort from Miami filmmaker S. Craig Zahler, as he returned to Venice flanked his stars Vince Vaughn, Tory Kittles and Michael Jai White for an out-of-competition premiere for his third feature and latest gritty genre piece ‘Dragged Across Concrete’. A tale of two disgraced cops who plunge into the criminal underworld and take matters into their own hands after being suspended for misconduct and police brutality—the film has no confirmed UK or US release dates yet.
Tuesday the 4th
Vox Lux
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Tuesday at Venice this year saw the return of young actor-turned-director Brady Corbet to the Lido, following up his triumphant, pseudo-historical hypothetical biography debut ‘The Childhood of a Leader’, with a contemporary alternative set in the entertainment industry. ‘Vox Lux’ tells the story of a pop star and her unconventional rise to stardom through the late 90s to the present day, filtering the events and evolving culture which has defined the 21st century through her eyes, and through the prism of her experiences.
Corbet walked the red carpet for an in competition premiere, accompanied by his lead Natalie Portman and co-stars Stacy Martin and Raffey Cassidy, ‘Vox Lux’ has no confirmed UK or US release dates yet.
Vox Lux @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
The Accused (Acusada)
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The second Golden Lion contender on Tuesday was a decidedly Hispanic yet globally relevant affair, in the form of writer/director Gonzalo Tobal’s Argentinian crime drama ‘The Accused’—a reflection of a perpetually connected world and the notion of truth in the modern media landscape, seen through the prism of a young student’s brutal murder and the best friend accused of the crime, as she grapples with the impending trial and its effect on everyone around her. Tobal was joined at the Lido by his stars Leonardo Sbaraglia and Lali Espósito, ‘The Accused’ on the 13th of September in Argentina, with no other release dates yet.
The Accused @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor)
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The principal competition on was rounded off on Tuesday with some German participation, as filmmaker and undoubted winner of tallest director at the Biennale 2018 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was joined by his stars Oliver Masucci, Tom Schilling, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl and Sebastian Koch for the premiere of ‘Never Look Away’. A tale of judgement and deceit inspired by true events and spanning several eras of German history, following a young artist whose burgeoning relationship with a fellow student is threatened by her disapproving father, unleashing dark buried secrets which reflect an open wound in German society. ‘Never Look Away’ is out on the 3rd of October in Germany, with no UK or US dates yet.
Never Look Away @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Wednesday the 5th
22 July
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As often happens with certain topics or stories, October 2018 will see the ‘lone-wolf’ terrorist attacks of 2011 in Norway get the movie treatment in two separate films, with the Norwegian language version ‘U – July 22’ following Netflix’s English language take ’22 July’, which got an in competition premiere on Wednesday in Venice.
Director Paul Greengrass was joined on the red carpet by writer of the source novel Åsne Seierstad, plus the film’s stars Thorbjørn Harr, Seda Witt, Maria Bock, Jon Øigarden, Anders Danielsen Lie, Håkon Smeby, Jonas Strand Gravli and Isak Bakli, to present the British director’s latest take on real-life international tragedy—a sombre story from the perspective of the survivors, and their experiences of the fateful day when Anders Breivik planted a deadly car bomb in Oslo as a distraction to storm a youth camp on the island of Utøya and murder 69 people. ’22 July’ is out on the 10th of October on Netflix.
22 July @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Our Time (Nuestro Tiempo)
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Wednesday also saw some Spanish language competition for the Golden Lion, in the form of a Mexican-led multinational production from writer/director Carlos Reygadas. ‘Our Time’ is a family and relationship drama set in rural Mexico, chronicling the the emotional struggles of a married couple who run a ranch for fighting bulls, whose relationship is placed in crisis when the wife falls for an American horse trainer. Director and one of the film’s stars Reygadas was flanked by his co-stars Phil Burgers and Natalia López, plus producer Jaime Romandia, ‘Our Time’ has no confirmed release dates.
Our Time @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
The Summer House (Les Estivants)
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Female filmmakers got some rare time in the Venetian sun on Wednesday when Italian actress and French film star-turned-director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi graced the Lido with her stars Noemie Lvovsky, Valeria Golino, Bruno Raffaelli, Yolande Moreau and Riccardo Scamarcio, for an out-of-competition premiere for French drama ‘The Summer House’; a semi-autobiographical story set in the French Riviera, where a screenwriter on vacation struggles to pen her next film while dealing with a recent break-up and the self-reflection of the people around her, in a large house where the problems of the world around outside can’t penetrate. ‘The Summer House’ is out in French cinemas on the 26th of December, with no UK or US date yet.
The Summer House trailer (courtesy of Lucky Red)
Thursday the 6th
The Nightingale
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The second Thursday at La Biennale this year saw some Australian participation, as Aussie actress-turned-writer/director Jennifer Kent finally followed up her impressive directorial 2014 debut ‘The Babadook’ with an in competition premiere for ‘The Nightingale’. A tale of revenge and a meditation on the violent legacy of colonisation, told through a pseudo-Western set in the unforgiving mid 19th century Australian outback, where a young female Irish convict teams up with an Aboriginal tracker to hunt down the British officer who wronged her.
Kent was joined on the Lido red carpet by her stars Sam Claflin, Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambarr, ‘The Nightingale’ has no confirmed released dates yet.
The Nightingale @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Capri-Revolution
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Thursday also brought more local representation to the festival, as Venice regular Mario Martone brought Golden Lion contender ‘Capri-Revolution’ to La Biennale; A semi-biographical story set on the precipice of the first World War, revolving around a young goatherd whose fateful encounter with an artistic commune and a local doctor reveal the revolutionary tendencies of the unique island of Capri. Martone was on hand with his stars Donatella Finocchiaro, Marianna Fontana and Reinout Scholten van Aschat, ‘Capri-Revolution’ is out on the 13th of December in Italy, with no other confirmed dates yet.
Capri-Revolution @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Shadow (Ying)
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Thursday also proved a productive return to Venice for legendary Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), in town not only to receive an award for his filmmaking contributions, but to present an out-of-competition premiere for his latest stunning period epic ‘Shadow’—a tale of war and conquest set in the ‘Three Kingdom’s Era’ of China and following a great king and his people, determined to reclaim their homeland but divided on how, and the mysterious commoner with a scheme . . . around whom history will revolve. Zhang Yimou brought along his stars Qianyuan Wang, Hu Jun, Kai Zheng, Wang Jingchun and Guan Xiaotong, ‘Shadow’ is out on the 30th of September in China, with no other dates yet.
Shadow trailer (courtesy of TIFF Trailers)
Friday the 7th
Killing (Zan)
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The penultimate day at La Biennale culminated with the final Golden Lion contender, as writer/director Shinya Tsukamoto brought his stars Yu Aoi , Sosuke Ikematsu and Ryusei Maeda to the Lido red carpet for a premiere of their Samurai drama ‘Killing’—a meditation on war set in in mid-19th century Japan and following a master Samurai-turned-wandering Ronin, who is dragged back into a world of violence after years of peace by the arrival of dangerous outlaws to his village. ‘Killing’ is out on the 24th of November in Japan, with no other confirmed dates yet.
Killing @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
One Nation, One King (Un Peuple Et Son Roi)
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Friday also saw some out-of-competition action which included a visit from writer/director Pierre Schoeller for a screening of his historical period drama ‘One Nation, One King’; a tale set in 1789 France and exploring the French revolution and the birth of a republic, through the eyes of the regular people who birthed it, the figures it overthrew and the system it established. Schoeller walked the Lido flanked by his stars Noemie Lvovsky, Laurent Lafitte, Louis Garrel and Celine Sallette, ‘One Nation, One King’ is out on the 26th of September in France, with no UK or US dates yet.
One Nation, One King @ Venice 2018 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
A Story Without a Name (Una Storia Senza Nome)
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Eager to grab the chance at some last minute promotion, director Roberto Andò brought his own stars Renato Carpentieri, Alessandro Gassmann and Micaela Ramazzotti to Venice for an out-of-competition premiere of their Italian drama ‘A Story Without a Name’; a contemporary tale revolving around a young secretary to a film producer who moonlights as a ghost writer for film scripts, whose life is turned upside down when she pens a crime tale from a police source which becomes something of an industry sensation—but unleashes unsavoury buried secrets from the past. ‘A Story Without a Name’ is out on the 20th of September in Italy, with no other release dates yet.
Saturday the 8th
Driven
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Saturday saw the film proceedings at this year’s festival come to a close in aluminium-clad 80s style, as director Nick Hamm (Killing Bono, The Journey) ushered a DeLorean on to the red carpet—along with his stars Lee Pace and Jason Sudeikis—for an out-of-competition gala screening of their American drama/thriller ‘Driven’; a biographical crime story set between the mid-70s and early 80s, revolving around a family man who moonlights as a drug smuggler and is turned into an FBI informant, only to become embroiled in the exploits of an eccentric and ambitious car manufacturer, while under the thumb of the federal agents who hold his life in the balance. ‘Driven’ has no confirmed release dates.
Driven clip (courtesy of TIFF Trailers)
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