Venice Film Festival 2019 (La Biennale)
As per tradition late summer once again brought the global filmmaking community and the world’s press to the ‘Queen of the Adriatic’ for the start of twelve days of film appreciation and promotion, as the great and the good of international cinema converged on ‘La Serenissima’ with screenings and premieres for the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival (La Biennale).
While the Netflix impasse persisted at Cannes earlier this year, the streaming giants were more than welcome at the Lido, submitting two entries for the official competition . . . and no doubt shopping for more. Meanwhile as the glitterati of global cinema graced press conferences, photocalls and red carpets for the rest of the ‘Golden Lion’ contenders, plus other competitions and out-of-competition screenings—we break down the major happenings at one of the major stops on the long film festival and award season railway.
Jury
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This year’s principal jury—responsible for awarding the ‘Golden Lion’ and other prizes at festival’s end—was presided over by Argentinian writer/director Lucrecia Martel and included Japanese filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto, Canadian film historian and festival director Piers Handling, French actress Stacy Martin, Canadian director Mary Harron, Italian writer/director Paolo Virzì and Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto.
Premieres & Screenings
Wednesday the 28th
The Truth (La Vérité)
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The honour of opening this year’s proceedings went to Venice regular and European film festival favourite Hirokazu Kore-eda, as the Japanese writer/director brought his first non-Japanese feature ‘The Truth’ to the official competition. It tells the tale of a grande dame of French cinema, whose stormy relationship with her daughter and her family becomes further strained with the publishing of her memoirs, and a family reunion which threatens to lay bare uncomfortable truths and resentments.
Kore-eda was joined on the red carpet by his stars Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve, Manon Clavel, Clémentine Grenier and Ludivine Sagnier, ‘The Truth’ is out in October in Italy and Japan, with no UK or US dates yet.
The Truth @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Pelican Blood (Pelikanblut)
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Day one also saw a premier in the Horizons (Orizzonti) competition when German writer/director Katrin Gebbe brought along her stars Katerina Lipovska, Adelia Ocleppo and Murathan Muslu for a screening of their motherhood drama ‘Pelican Blood’; the story of an adoptive rural mother who brings in a new five-year-old sister for her nine-year-old daughter, only for her idyllic life to be upended when this new youngster begins to display disturbing and dangerous behaviour, prompting the dedicated mother to take drastic measures to protect and maintain her new family unit. ‘Pelican Blood’ has no confirmed release dates.
Pelican Blood Venice interview (courtesy of Fred Film Radio)
Thursday the 29th
Ad Astra
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With the release of his new space voyage only three weeks away and the lure of late red carpet promotion too much to resist, writer/director James Gray and newly acquired 20th Century Fox brought their new sci-fi mystery epic to the Lido on Thursday, for an in-competition world premiere of ‘Ad Astra’. The tale of an American astronaut who travels to the edge of our solar system on a very personal voyage, tasked with discovering the fate of his vanished father on a top secret space exploration mission with implications for the survival of humanity.
The American director was joined by his stars Brad Pitt, Ruth Negga and Liv Tyler, ‘Ad Astra’ is out on the 18th of September in the UK, and on the 20th of September in the US.
Ad Astra @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Marriage Story
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After the global film festival and award show success of ‘Roma’ last year, day two in Venice this year saw another Netflix contender enter the fray, as as Noah Baumbach entered the official competition with a world premiere of ‘Marriage Story’; an honest, tender and perceptive American tale of a marriage ending, and two adults trying to keep their family together across the country for the sake of their kid.
Baumbach was joined on the Venice red carpet by his producer David Heyman and stars Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern and Adam Driver, ‘Marriage Story’ is out on Netflix on the 6th of December, with a potential limited theatrical release currently under consideration.
Marriage Story @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
The Perfect Candidate
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Thursday also saw a rare Saudi Arabian entry for the official competition when director Haifaa Al Mansour brought along her stars Dhay, Khalid Abdulrhim and Mila Al Zahrani for a premiere of ‘The Perfect Candidate’; a reflective portrait of a slowly changing Saudi society, centred around a determined young female doctor who surprisingly becomes the first female candidate for her local elections, causing consternation in a town unprepared for radical change, and putting pressure on her family. ‘The Perfect Candidate’ has no confirmed release dates yet.
The Perfect Candidate @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Friday the 30th
The Mayor of Rione Sanità (Il Sindaco del Rione Sanità)
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The first Friday this year saw a return to the estival for writer/director and Venice stalwart Mario Martone, in official competition contention with Italian crime drama ‘The Mayor of Rione Sanità’; a stageplay adaptation of the story of an honest self-styled Neapolitan local mayor who dispenses his own brand of order and justice, and whose distinct moral compass is tested when he intervenes in a serious family dispute.
Martone was joined in the Lido by his stars Roberto De Francesco, Daniela Ioia, Francesco Di Leva, Massimiliano Gallo and Adriano Pantaleo, ‘The Mayor of Rione Sanità’ is out in Italian cinemas on the 30th of September, with no UK other dates yet.
The Mayor of Rione Sanità @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
An Officer and a Spy (J’accuse)
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The day’s official competition proceedings also saw the return to Venice, albeit in film only, of both celebrated and wanted Franco-Polish director Roman Polanski, for a premiere of his adaptation of the Robert Harris novel about the French 19th century ‘Dreyfus affair’ scandal ‘An Officer and a Spy’. It tells the tale of a French officer who risks his future by exposing the truth behind the arrest and imprisonment of fellow soldier Alfred Dreyfus, on potentially false charges of treason and spying for Germany.
In his absence for extradition reasons, Polanski was represented by the film’s composer Alexandre Desplat and stars Jean Dujardin, Emmanuelle Seigner and Louis Garrel, ‘An Officer and a Spy’ is out on the 13th of November in France, with no UK dates yet.
An Officer and a Spy @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Seberg
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The day’s big out-of-competition premiere came in the form director Benedict Andrews’ biographical political thriller ‘Seberg’—based on the true story of 60s French New Wave star Jean Seberg’s struggle against the US government, after she became the target of illegal FBI surveillance after becoming involved with a civil rights activist and the Black Power movement. The director was joined on the Venice red carpet by stars Jack O’Connell, Kristen Stewart, Zazie Beetz, Margaret Qualley and Anthony Mackie, ‘Seberg’ has no confirmed release dates yet.
Seberg on the Venice 2019 red carpet (courtesy of Access Video TV)
Saturday the 31st
Joker
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Saturday saw an in-competition premier for one of the most awaited releases of the year, arguably the most anticipated film of this year’s festival and the eventual Golden Lion winner, when writer/director Todd Phillips brought along his stars Joaquin Phoenix and Zazie Beetz for a screening of his unique take on the makings of an iconic anarchic supervillain in ‘Joker’.
Set in the 70s and blending ‘Taxi Driver’ with ‘The King of Comedy’, it follows resentful failed comedian and disregarded soul Arthur Fleck, who makes a bad decision when pushed to the brink, descending into a downward spiral as he channels his rage and mania into making an impact on the world—with grave consequences for the citizens of Gotham City. ‘Joker’ is out in UK and US cinemas on the 4th of October.
Joker @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Ema
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The first Saturday at Venice this year also saw a return to the Lido for Chilean auteur Pablo Larraín, as he brought along his stars Gael García Bernal and Mariana Di Girolamo for a premiere of their Golden Lion contender ‘Ema’; the story of an impulsive young dancer who plunges into the night life of a Chilean city to escape the guilt of her failed family, after abandoning the husband she left and the son they adopted, only to become obsessed with recovering everything she lost. ‘Ema’ is out on the 26th of September in Chile, with no other release dates yet.
Ema @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Madre
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The horizons competition also saw some action on Saturday when Spanish writer/director Rodrigo Sorogoyen made his first Venice visit as a nominated filmmaker—along with his stars Jules Porier, Marta Nieto and Àlex Brendemühl—with an adaptation of his own 2017 Oscar-nominated short ‘Madre’. A haunting but hopeful tale of motherhood revolving around a Spanish woman whose infant son goes missing on French beach holiday, only for her to encounter a French teenager on that same beach a decade later who reminds her of her lost boy, as they cultivate a curious relationship which will change both their lives. ‘Madre’ is out on the 15th of November in Spain, with no UK or US dates yet.
Sunday the 1st
The Laundromat
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The first Sunday this year saw both the second Netflix contender for the Golden Lion, but also a first Lido visit for director/producer Steven Soderbergh in official competition mode, as he brought along source novelist Jake Bernstein plus his stars Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman for a red carpet debut of his dark comedic take on the Panama Papers scandal ‘The Laundromat’.
In it Soderbergh applies absurdist comedic tones and a punchy pace to the story of a widow who begins to suspect she’s being defrauded, as her inquiries take her to a law firm in Panama and its shifty partners, uncovering a global offshore financial conspiracy which engulfs some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people. ‘The Laundromat’ is out on the 18th of October on Netflix, with a potential limited cinema run on the 1st of November in the US.
The Laundromat @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Wasp Network
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Sunday also brough French filmmaker Olivier Assayas back to Venice in official competition mode, walking the Lido red carpet for a premiere of his biographical political espionage drama ‘Wasp Network’; the true tale of a group of five Cuban refugees in late 90s USA who turn out to be Cuban intelligence officers, sent to infiltrate and subvert anti-Castro Cuban-American groups, and are convicted and charged with espionage and murder—causing global controversy and putting further strain on an almost non-existent relationship between the two nations.
Assayas was joined by his stars Penélope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramírez, Wagner Moura and Leonardo Sbaraglia, ‘Wasp Network’ is out on the 22nd of January 2020 in France, with no UK or US dates yet.
Wasp Network @ Venice 2019 (courtesy of BiennaleChannel)
Revenir
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The horizons competition brought French participation on Sunday, when director Jessica Palud was joined by her stars Adèle Exarchopoulos and Niels Schneider for a premiere of their French family drama ‘Revenir’; the story of a young man who revisits childhood strife and pain when he returns to the disused family farm whence he was born, trudging up everything he left behind but also forging a welcome new connection with an estranged young nephew and his mother. ‘Revenir’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Revenir interview Venice 2019 (courtesy of Fred Film Radio)
Week 2 at La Biennale (Next Page)–>
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