Beginning with the pre-opening party this evening, the 69th Venice Film Festival, part of the Venice Biennale, takes over the Venetian island Lido until the 8th of September.
Out of the 18 films in competition, three Italian directors—Marco Bellocchio, Francesca Comencini, and Daniele Ciprí—are in the running for the Golden Lion for best film with entries ranging from Ciprí's mafia thriller E' stato il figlio (It Was the Son) to Bellocchio's La Bella Addormentata (Dormant Beauty) exploring the meaning of life and hope and Comencini's Un giorno speciale (A Special Day) based on the romance novel Il cielo con un dito (The Sky with One Finger).
Alberto Barbera's return as festival director has brought about sweeping changes in the format, including a reduction in the number of competition films and an initially controversial digital theatre. After negotiating with filmmakers and distributers, Barbera has designed a 500-"seat" sala in which people attend screenings online.
With the abolition of the "Italian Controcampo" section of the festival, the out-of-competition section will host independent Italian films. Four docufilms—Liliana Cavani's Clarisse, Silvia Giralucci and Luca Ricciardi's Sfiorando il muro (Grazing the Wall), Carlo Mazzacurati's Medici Con l'Africa (Doctors with Africa), and Daniele Vicari's La nave dolce (The Sweet Ship)—will appear there this year.
Four docufilms by Italian directors —Liliana Cavani's Clarisse, Silvia Giralucci and Luca Ricciardi's Sfiorando il muro (Grazing the Wall), Carlo Mazzacurati's Medici Con l'Africa (Doctors with Africa), and Daniele Vicari's La nave dolce (The Sweet Ship)— will also appear in the general out-of-competition section "Controcampo" as Barbera decided not to have a specific one for Italian films only, "Controcampo Italiano", as in recent editions of the festival.
