25/07/2013 - The director of the Venice festival, Alberto Barbera, presented this morning the 70th edition of the world’s oldest film festival in which the crises that our society currently faces will assume a central role.

A Mostra dominated by strong thematics, films that, with few exceptions, reflect today’s numerous crises, economic and social, without leaving much space for optimism.

Venice 2013 will open with two Hollywood stars in 3D: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in the fantastic-scientific film Gravity, by Alfonso Cuarón. 3D will also be invited to the closing of the festival with the docu-fiction Amazonia, and the little glasses will likewise be a necessity for the Japanese Aramaki Shinji’s animation film Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Nevertheless, the director Alberto Barbera does not conceal a collection of stories of great suffering, of prostitution, pedophilia, homophobia, violence against women, and the fragmentation of the family nucleus, as if the condition of the family symbolised the lack of confidence and the crisis of values that our society now experiences.

The most striking novelty comes from the two documentaries present in competition: The Unknown Known, by Errol Morris who has interviewed the ex US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, and Sacro GRA, by Gianfranco Rosi, one of the most acclaimed Italian documentarists.

North American independent cinema is indeed well represented in competition with James Franco’s Child of God, David Gordon Green’s Joe, Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves, and Peter Landesman’s Parkland. Meanwhile, numerous British films in competition attest to the new vigour of UK cinema: Stephen Frears’s Philomena, interpreted by Judi Dench, John Curran’s Tracks, Terry Gilliam’s UK/US co-production The Zero Theorem, and Christopher Waltz and Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin.

The filmmaker Gianni Amelio is back under the Italian banner with L’Intrepido, featuring Antonio Albanese in the main role. Still representing Italy, the excellent theatre director Emma Dante makes her debut in cinema with Via Castellana Bandiera. Controversy surrounds the absence of Anni Felici, the latest film directed by Daniele Luchetti, who would have preferred Toronto owing to the bad reception that the Mostra reserved for him a few years ago.

France is represented by Philippe Garrel who directs once again his son Louis opposite Anna Mouglalis in La Jalousie. France is also present through co-productions directed by the Israeli Amos Gitai (Ana Arabia), the Algerian Merzak Allouache (Les Terrasses), and the Canadian Xavier Dolan (Tom à la Ferme).

Europe musters the Greek Alexandros Avranas (Miss Violence) and the German Philip Gröning, who returns with the harsh and rigorous Die Frau des Polizisten.

Not without a tinge of pride, Barbera highlighted the presence in competition of Stray Dogs (Jiaoyou), officially announced as Master Tsai Ming-Liang’s last film, which would constitute a “sum of all his cinema”, and of Kaze Tachinu, by Hayao Miyazaki, yet another Master, but an animation this time.

To note Out-of-Competition: Edgar Reitz who brings to the Mostra a sort of prequel to his Heimat (Die Andere Heimat - Chronik einer), and Andrzej Wajda with his homage to Walesa, Man of Hope.

 

OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Es-Stouh (The Rooftops), Merzak Allouache (Algeria-France)
L’intrepido Gianni Amelio (Italy)
Miss Violence, Alexandros Avranas (Greece)
Tracks, John Curran (U.K.-Australia)
Via Castellana Bandiera, Emma Dante (Italy-Switzerland-France)
Tom at the Farm, Xavier Dolan (Canada-France)
Child of God, James Franco (U.S.)
Philomena, Stephen Frears (U.K.)
La Jalousie, Philippe Garrel (France)
The Zero Theorem, Terry Gilliam (U.K.-U.S.)
Ana Arabia, Amos Gitai (Israel-France)
Under the Skin, Jonathan Glazer (U.K.-U.S.)
Parkland, Peter Landesman (U.S.)
Joe, David Gordon Green (U.S.)
Die Frau des Polizisten (The Police Officer’s Wife) Philip Groning (Germany)
Kaze tachinu, Hayao Miyazaki (Japan)
The Unknown Known: the Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld, Errol Morris (U.S.)
Night Moves, Kelly Reichardt (U.S.)
Sacro GRA, Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)
Stray Dogs (Jiaoyou), Tsai Ming-liang (Taiwan-France)

OUT OF COMPETITION
Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Aramaki Shinji (Japan)
Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron (U.S.)
Moebius, Kim Ki-duk (South Korea)
Locke, Steven Knight (U.K.)
Yurusarezaru mono (Unforgiven), Lee Sang-Il (Japan)
Wolf Creek 2, Greg McLean (Australia)
Die Andere Heimat — Chronik einer Sehnsucht (Home from Home — Chronicle of a Vision), Edgar Reitz (Germany)
The Canyons, Paul Schrader (U.S.)
Che strano chiamarsi Federico Scola racconta Fellini, Ettore Scola (Italy)
Walesa. Czlowiek z nadziei (Walesa. Man of Hope), Andrzej Wajda, Ewa Brodzka (Poland)

OUT OF COMPETITION — DOCUMENTARIES
Summer 82 When Zappa Came to Sicily, Salvo Cuccia (Italy-U.S.)
Pine Ridge, Anna Eborn (Denmark)
The Armstrong Lie, Alex Gibney (U.S.)
Ukraina ne Bordel (Ukraine Is Not Brothel),
Kitty Green (Australia) Amazonia, Thierry Ragobert (France-Brazil)
Feng Ai (‘Til Madness Do Us Apart), Wang Bing (Hong Kong-China-France-Japan)
At Berkeley, Frederick Wiseman (U.S.)

ORIZZONTI (HORIZON)
Je m’appelle Hmmm…, Agnes B. (France)
Bauyr (Little Brother), Serik Aprymov (Kazakhstan)
Il terzo tempo, Enrico Maria Artale (Italy)
Eastern Boys, Robin Campillo (France)
Palo Alto, Gia Coppola (U.S.)
Ruin, Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Michael Cody (Australia)
Mahi Va Gorbeh (Fish and Cat), Shahram Mokri (Iran)
Vi ar bast! (We Are the Best! ) Lukas Moodysson (Sweden-Denmark)
Wolfskinder (Wolfschildren), Rick Ostermann (Germany)
La vida despues, David Pablos (Mexico)
Algunas Chicas, Santiago Palavecino (Argentina)
Medeas, Andrea Pallaoro (U.S.-Italy)
Still Life, Uberto Pasolini (U.K.)
Piccola Patria, Alessandro Rossetto (Italy)
La prima neve, Andrea Segre (Italy)
Jigoku de naze warui (Why Don’t You Play in Hell? ), Sono Sion (Japan)
The Sacrament, Ti West (U.S.)

(Translated from Italian)