63rd VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
63rd VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Venice Lido
from 30th August to 9th September 2006
go to 30th AUGUST 2006: OPENING CERIMONY, NEW!
go to 31th AUGUST 2006: HOLLYWOODLAND & INFAMOUS, NEW!
go to EVENTS
go to FILM OUT OF COMPETITION
THE 63rd VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The 63rd Venice International Film Festival, organised by the Venice Biennale, will be held on the Venice Lido from 30th August to 9th September 2006.
The aim of the Festival is to encourage the awareness and the promotion of all the various aspects of international cinema as art, entertainment and industry, in a spirit of freedom and tolerance.
The official selection includes the following sections: Venezia 63 - In Competition, Venezia 63 - Out of Competition, Orizzonti, and Corto Cortissimo.
Four international juries will assign the official awards of the Mostra: the Venezia 63 jury will award the Golden Lion for best film; the Corto Cortissimo jury will award the Corto Cortissimo Lion for best short film; the Orizzonti jury will award the Orizzonti prize; the “Luigi De Laurentiis” jury will award the Lion of the Future, for which all the debut full-length films presented in the various sections of the Festival are eligible.
The Mostra also includes retrospectives and homages to major figures as a contribution towards a better awareness of the history of cinema: one section is dedicated to The Secret History of Russian Cinema, one to Brazilian film-maker Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, and one to The Secret History of Italian Cinema.
30 august 2006: THE BLACK DAHLIA
The Festival kicks off on August 30 with the opening ceremony followed by the screening of Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, which screens in competition and stars Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, and Fiona Shaw.
The Black Dahlia weaves a fictionalized tale of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around the true story of the brutal murder of a fledgling Hollywood starlet that shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947 and remains unsolved today. Two ex-pugilist cops, Lee Blanchard and Bucky Bleichert, are called to investigate the homicide of ambitious silver-screen B-lister Betty Ann Short A.K.A. “The Black Dahlia” – an attack so grisly that images of the killing were kept from the public. While Blanchard’s growing preoccupation with the sensational murder threatens his relationship with Kay, his partner Bleichert finds himself attracted to the enigmatic Madeleine Linscott, the daughter of one of the city’s most prominent families – who just happens to have an unsavory connection to the murder victim.
31th AUGUST 2006: HOLLYWOODLAND
June, 1959. The glamour of Tinseltown permanently fades for actor George Reeves(Ben Affleck), the heroic Man of Steel on TV’s Adventures of Superman, as the actor dies in his Hollywood Hills home. Felled by a single gunshot wound, Reeves leaves behind a fiancée – aspiring starlet Leonore Lemmon – and millions of fans who are shocked by his death. But it is his grieving mother, Helen Bessolo who will not let the questionable circumstances surrounding his demise go unaddressed. Helen seeks justice, or at least answers. The Los Angeles Police Department closes the case, but Helen hires private detective Louis Simo(Adrien Brody). He soon ascertains that the torrid affair Reeves had with Toni Mannix(Diane Lane), the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix(Bob Hoskins), might hold the key to the truth.
Director’s notes
"We all have our own version of the desire for stardom – whether it’s a place on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame or something much more private – and how we deal with it can shape our lives for good or ill. There’s something essentially tragic about this cult of celebrity we live in, and that’s what drew me to this story: the fact that, like George Reeves with his dreams of old-fashioned stardom and Louis Simo, with his drive to be a Player, we all live in Hollywoodland.
EVENTS
- Tuesday, August 29
Festival Warm-Up, with a tribute to Roberto Rossellini and Mario Soldati in Campo San Polo, Venice, at 9.00 p.m.: Roma Città Aperta (1945) directed by Roberto Rossellini, followed by Quartieri Alti (1942) directed by Mario Soldati. Screenings are in collaboration with the Cinema Department of Venice City Council – Cinema Office. Versions of these films restored by the Cineteca Nazionale in Rome will be screened. Screenings are made possible thanks to collaboration with the Cultural Policy Department of Rome City Council and thanks to the technical support of Cinecittà Digital for Roma Città Aperta. - Wednesday, August 30
Festival Warm-Up, with a tribute to Luchino Visconti in Campo San Polo, Venice, at 9.00 p.m.: Siamo Donne (1953) starring Anna Magnani and directed by Luchino Visconti, followed by Ossessione (1943), also directed by Luchino Visconti. Screenings are in collaboration with the Cinema Department of Venice City Council. Versions of these films restored by the Cineteca Nazionale in Rome and by Ripley’s Film will be screened. The screening of Ossessione is in collaboration with SkyItalia. - Thursday, August 31
- At Hotel Excelsior, Cinecittà Holding area, the Venice Biennale presents Cinema Productions, Tourism and Territories, a research project promoted by the Cinema Department of Venice Biennial and sponsored by Banca Italease, Centro Studi Nuct Mediterraneo, Film Commission Torino Piemonte, Film Commission Regione Campania and Veneto Film Commission. This initiative is realized by Risposte Turismo Srl. Scientific coordination is provided by Francesco di Cesare, lecturer in Tourism Marketing at the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice.
- At the Conference Center in the Casino: Convention on: Cinema in Italy: One Way Forward. Legislative Reform, New Tools and Resources. Organized by Italy’s financial daily, “Il Sole 24 Ore”.
- Friday, September 1
3rd Floor of the Casino: inauguration of an Exhibition to celebrate the Centennial of the birth of Flavia Paulon. Organized by ASAC (Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts). The Exhibition will run through Saturday, September 9. - Monday, September 4
At the Casino, from 3.30 p.m. until 5.50 p.m.: International Convention on European Films in the United States. Organized by the Venice Biennale and curated by Peter Cowie. - Tuesday, September 5
- At the Casino, from 3.30 p.m. until 5.30 p.m.: International Convention on Italian Films in the Global Context. Organized by the Venice Biennale and curated by Peter Cowie
- Under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Italy and in collaboration with ANEC and Cinecittà Holding: the 4th ”Diamonds at the Cinema” Italian Cinema Award. The recipient of this award is voted by the public at cinemas across Italy. The Award Ceremony will take place in the Sala Visconti at the Hotel Des Bains.
- Wednesday, September 6
- Sala Volpi, at 9.30 p.m.: Convention on: Digital Cinema and 3D Stereoscopic Films: Opportunities for Art and Business organized by SMPTE, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in collaboration with Venice Biennial.
- Palazzo del cinema, Sala Grande: Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Ceremony: Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement presented to David Lynch.
- Thursday, September 7
At Gran Teatro La Fenice, Venice, at 8.30 p.m.: World Premiere of The Magic Flute (2006), directed by Kenneth Branagh. - Friday, September 8
Hotel Excelsior, Sala degli Stucchi, the Leoncino d’Oro Award Ceremony. A Jury of Young People from all over Italy present this award to the film considered the Best Film competing in the 63rd Venice Film Festival. The same jury will also announce the winner of the 27th Cinema for UNICEF Award. - Saturday, September 9
Award Ceremony: Wella Woman of Cinema Award, first awarded in 2002 and now in its sixth successful year. This Award recognizes the Leading Actress in one of the films participating in the 63rd Film Festival which – in a written statement from the jury – best describes the values of contemporary and classical Woman. In 2004, the Award was won by Scarlett Johansson. The recipient in 2005 was Angela Finocchiaro.
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