Aug 30: The 11-day long Venice Film Festival among one of the oldest film contest opens on Wednesday evening on the island of the Lido, Venice, Italy. It is the 64 th instance being added to its history starting in 1932 and this year there are 22 movies on the floor to vie for the top most award the Leone d'Oro or Golden Lion, which is given to the best film. Also there are awards for the best actors and actress along with the San Marco Award for the counter-current category.
The festival on Wednesday on its opening ceremony unveiled the Keira Knightley starrer “ Atonement” which is based on Ian McEwan’s novel with the same name. This time it will be tough for juries to select the best film as there are films lined up having themes on Iraq War and its impact on American democracy, police cruelty in Egypt and corruption and mafia dons in Italy.
Festival showcases some of the best contemporary films but those which showcase a cinematic art and excellence in film making representing a tradition of event history. A film named “Michael Clayton” starring the Oscar winner George Clonney as a fixer on the theme of corruption and dirty work will display underworld and mafia activities in Italy.
Another awaiting film is the Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck starrer “The Assassination of Jesse James” directed by Coward Robert Ford.
Apart from there are two most sensitive topics based on Iraq: one is directors Paul Haggis’ “In The Valley of Elah” starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron and the second one named “Redacted” based on a story in which a battalion of US army persecutes a Iraqi family and also the role of media after the incident. Another insightful film “Heya Fawda” is also in the festival frame on a sensitive topic of police cruelty in Egypt. This is the only Egyptian film in the festival.
There are as many as 12 US films and among the Asian contenders there is Oscar-winning Lee's "Se, Jie" (Lust, Caution), a spy thriller. There are also a couple of others from Asian contingent. However, this time it seems that the Keira Knightley may take the best actress award as she has already won special acclaimed from critics all across world with this psychological drama.
This year the festival will awarded a special Golden Lion to notable US film maker Tim Burton for his lifetime achievement and contribution to this cinematic art. The organizer has also decided to award one of the movies as “the most secular film”.
In the last if not the least one of the other topmost contenders for the Golden Lion Prize is the remake of the 1972 classic “Sleuth” in which Sir Michael Caine was the prime attraction.
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