VENICE, Italy — The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival is about to start, with big Hollywood films and stars expected in Italy. The festival kicks off Wednesday with the world premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” before opening in theaters around the world next week.
Here’s everything you need to know.
The Venice Festival is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, second only to Cannes, and technically the oldest. It is now a reliably star-studded affair, collecting some of the best films from international cinema. It was founded in 1932, then a non-competitive event, by the La Biennale di Venezia, where films such as ‘Grand Hotel’ and ‘It Happened One Night’ were shown. In 1935 they decided to make it an annual event.
The Golden Lion Award would not be introduced until 1949 (“Rashômon” won in 1951). Some other winners throughout history include “Belle de jour” (1967), “Au revoir les enfants” (1987), “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), “Somewhere” (2010) and last year: “Poor Things .’ A film market was added in 2012, another year that festival director Alberto Barbera credits for its transformation as a major destination for award winners.
The festival kicks off on August 28 with the premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and runs through September 7, when the awards will be announced.
The private water taxis will be packed with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, Julianne Moore, Kevin Costner and Joaquin Phoenix are just some of the names expected to grace the festival this week.
It comes as a relief to many after last year’s festival took place amid Hollywood actors’ strikes, which left the red carpet quieter than usual. While there aren’t many teen idols on display this year (in recent years, Harry Styles and Timothée Chalamet have attracted a certain frenzied fandom), we can be assured of some great movie star moments.
One of the biggest titles in the competition: Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux”; Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas film “Maria,” starring Jolie; the erotic thriller “Babygirl” with Kidman and Harris Dickinson by filmmaker Halina Reijn; Luca Guadagnino’s William S. Burroughs’ adaptation “Queer,” starring Craig and Jason Schwartzman; and Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, “The Room Next Door,” starring Moore and Swinton.
There are also a few big Hollywood films playing out of competition: ‘Wolfs’, starring Pitt and Clooney, ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2’ and ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’. The AP’s Most Anticipated Movies list is here.
There may be some competition behind the scenes for private water taxis that ferry the A-listers between their various assignments, or for the best suites at the Belmond Cipriani, but so far no ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ intrigue has bubbled up. However, remember that ‘spit-gate’ took place in the middle of the festival; Something is bound to catch the internet’s attention.
The couple is legally single, but are still legally fighting over issues such as custody, finances and a winery in France. And the festival has made sure to schedule their films (and arrival/departure) on different days to avoid overlap. As Barbera told Vanity Fair: “Angelina will be on the first day, on Thursday the 29th, and she will leave immediately afterwards with (“Maria” filmmaker) Pablo Larraín to go to Telluride. So Brad won’t arrive in Venice until Saturday. There is no way they can cross paths at the Lido.”
For a long time, Venice struggled to compete with Cannes and Toronto for the biggest films. There were always stars and important films, some of which received Oscar nominations and wins. But Barbera thinks things really changed in 2012 when they hosted the premiere of “Gravity,” which won a leading seven Oscars in March and established Venice as a place to launch a campaign. It has only intensified as the academy’s membership has become more international. Since 2014, they have received four best picture winners (“Birdman”, “Spotlight”, “The Shape of Water” and “Nomadland”) and 19 nominees.
When people think of Venice, they usually think of sights like the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square. The festival actually takes place on another island, a nearly 7-mile-long barrier island called Lido – about a 20-minute ferry (vaporetto) ride away, where motorized vehicles, including cars and buses, and bicycles are allowed.
It was a military outpost in the 12th century and transformed into a seaside resort, a favorite of European aristocrats, by the end of the 19th century. In 1932, the Venice Film Festival decided to make the island its headquarters.
On the Lido, the favorite five-star hotel is Hotel Excelsior, which dates from 1908, where Quentin Tarantino stayed. But rooms are going fast, and there are so many luxury hotels on the different islands that offer a little more privacy away from the hustle and bustle of the festival and the photographers.
Perhaps the best known of the bunch is the Belmond Hotel Cipriani, on Guidecca, home to one of Clooney’s favorite bars. There is Hotel Danieli, which has featured in films such as ‘Moonraker’ and ‘Casino Royale’, and which regularly hosts festival kick-off parties, together with trade magazine Variety, to welcome the jury. Another favorite is the Gritti Palace, where everyone from Pitt to Elizabeth Taylor has stayed. There’s also a St. Regis and the Aman Venice, where George and Amal Clooney got married.
The scattered hotels are also why you see so many celebrities photographed on the Excelsior docks: they come to the festival, including press conferences and premieres, by private water taxi. Sometimes they are transported in cars a very short distance from the Excelsior to the red carpet. Unlike the main island of Venice, vehicles are allowed on the Lido, including buses and private cars. But many festival goers prefer to rent a bicycle to get around.
Isabelle Huppert chairs the competition’s main jury, which consists of James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz and Zhang Ziyi. This year’s competition consists of 21 films.
Well, it can be difficult. This year there was a fair amount of press who planned to leave Venice for the Toronto International Film Festival on September 4 (which starts September 5), but had to reconsider plans when it was announced that “Joker 2” would premiere was going that day. Others will leave earlier for Telluride, which starts on August 30. And there’s always the New York Film Festival (September 27 – October 14), which screens top films from previous festivals.
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For more coverage of the 2024 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.
