Venice Diary #6 - Banshees of Inisherin, Don't Worry Darling, and Tilda Swinton (twice)

by Elisa Giudici

Are Hollywood stars saving Venice as we enter the home stretch? The answer is yes, but not always willingly. Traditionally the back half of the Venice Film Festival is less glamorous, less exciting, and sometimes even a little dull. Toronto starts, a good portion of the international press leaves, and the most hideous filler of the competition fills the daily program. Not this year, though! Suddenly there's a movie that's even better than The Whale, so don’t worry darlings, today we have some real treats and gallons of drama...

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Venice Diary #5 - L'Immensità, Other People's Children, Padre Pio, Love Life

by Elisa Giudici

Today we have on our menù four movies so different one for the other there's no point in trying to find common ground or a theme. Let’s begin with the surprising and very good Penélope Cruz film... 

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Venice Gowns '22, Round 3

Belgian goddess Virginie Efira (at Venice for Other People's Children) and French icon Isabelle Huppert (presenting Le Syndicaliste) often exude sexual danger onscreen, but only Huppert opted for murder weapons as heels (look at those!). Efira went with a non-dangerous but gorgeous carmine velvet dress. Spain's movie queen Penelope Cruz hit Venice to promote her new Italian film L'Immensita and stunned as usual; truly one of the bonafide MOVIE STARS of our era. American actresses Hong Chau, Sadie Sink (both promoting The Whale), Patricia Clarkson (Monica), ad Britich actresses Jodie Turner-Smith (who is at every red carpet event in Venice this year), and Mia Goth (promoting Pearl) complete today's red carpet lineup. 

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Round 1 - Jodie Turner-Smith, Catherine Deneuve, Julianne Moore, etc...
Round 2 - Timothée Chalamet, Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchett, etc...

Venice at Home – Day 5: Returning Champions

by Cláudio Alves

The fifth day of competition finds three award-winning filmmakers vying for more golden plaudits. Rebecca Zlotowsky's directorial works have left strong impressions across some of Europe's biggest festivals, and this is her first time in Venice. Her new film, Other People's Children, stars Virginie Efira and Roschdy Zem – he's also in competition as a director with a different film. Next, Italy's  Emanuele Crialese returns with L'immensità after nabbing nine prizes in past editions of the festival. Finally, there's Darren Aronofsky who is a former Venice champion whose new project, The Whale, is already enshrined in Best Actor Oscar buzz for Brendan Fraser.

So today we're looking back at Aronofsky's 2008 Golden Lion winner, Zlotowsky's sensual summer, and Crialese's voyage to the New World…

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Venice Diary #04 - "The Whale" is a major contender

by Elisa Giudici

As festival goers, we are always waiting for that moment in which we can clearly perceive a film moving into a territory of absolute excellence, far above the norm. It's a sensation that is rare and powerful, and the only response is to shout superlative and add to the hype. I'm happy to report that the new Darren Aronofsky feature, The Whale, is one of those gigantic achievements...

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