The fact that Cannes had a unique way of selecting their lineup this year, what with the Netflix boycott and the fact that they refused to select films by some prominent directors, which they deemed not good enough, Venice is either taking their scraps or have found themselves with an absolute goldmine of cinematic heaven.
Films that were supposed to be at Cannes by the likes of Assayas, Audiard, Cuaron, Greengrass, Guadagnino, Leigh, Nemes, Reygadas and Welles will all take part in the Venice festivities. Oh, and lest we include premieres from Chazelle, Coen, Morris, Schnabel, Zahler, Cooper, Wiseman and Tsai Ming-Ling.
Suffice to say, now I'm thinking of going to Venice.
Of course, this lineup can't only come with positive reaction, there is a backlash occuring because of the lack of female filmmakers in competition. Only Jennifer Kent is there. Venice festival head Alberto Barbera defended the the lack of women in the lineup:
“Putting another film in the main competition just because it’s made by a woman, from my point of view, that would be really offensive for the director,” Barbera tells The Hollywood Reporter in Rome. “I would prefer to change my job if I would be forced to select a film only because it’s made by a woman and not on the basis of the quality of the film itself.”
“As I’ve said many times in the past, the best way to see a film is watching it without reading the credits. I don’t want to be influenced by the filmmaker. I don’t care if it’s a woman or a man,” he says. “My job consists in deciding if it’s a good film or not, and if a film is better than another one.”
“Of course if I see ROMA I know that it’s made by Alfonso Cuaron. If I see a film made by Jennifer Kent I know Jennifer Kent made the film. We watched Nightingale because we knew the filmmaker was a promising talent and so on,” he says.
“But when we see a first feature coming out of the blue from I don’t know where, when we’re looking at the quality of the filmmaking, I don’t care if it’s a man or a woman. I just care because it’s a good film,” says Barbera. “Of course I would be happy to have more females in the festival, but it doesn’t depend on me.”
“We can’t do anything about that. What can you do about that? I would be happy to say oh, I have an equal number of films made by men and women,” says Barbera. “This will happen in the future.”
Competition
First Man – Damien Chazelle (opening film)
The Mountain – Rick Alverson
Non-Fiction – Olivier Assayas
The Sisters Brothers – Jacques Audiard
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs – The Coen Brothers
Vox Lux – Brady Corbet
Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
22 July – Paul Greengrass
Suspiria – Luca Guadagnino
Werk Ohne Autor – Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
The Nightingale – Jennifer Kent
The Favorite – Yorgos Lanthimos
Peterloo – Mike Leigh
Sunset – Laszlo Nemes
Nuestro Tiempo – Carlos Reygadas
At Eternity’s Gate – Julian Schnabel
Capri-Revolution – Mario Martone
What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire – Roberto Minervini
Freres Ennemis – David Oelhoffen
Acusada – Gonzalo Tobal
Killing – Shinya Tsukamoto
Out Of Competition – Fiction
Films that were supposed to be at Cannes by the likes of Assayas, Audiard, Cuaron, Greengrass, Guadagnino, Leigh, Nemes, Reygadas and Welles will all take part in the Venice festivities. Oh, and lest we include premieres from Chazelle, Coen, Morris, Schnabel, Zahler, Cooper, Wiseman and Tsai Ming-Ling.
Suffice to say, now I'm thinking of going to Venice.
Of course, this lineup can't only come with positive reaction, there is a backlash occuring because of the lack of female filmmakers in competition. Only Jennifer Kent is there. Venice festival head Alberto Barbera defended the the lack of women in the lineup:
“Putting another film in the main competition just because it’s made by a woman, from my point of view, that would be really offensive for the director,” Barbera tells The Hollywood Reporter in Rome. “I would prefer to change my job if I would be forced to select a film only because it’s made by a woman and not on the basis of the quality of the film itself.”
“As I’ve said many times in the past, the best way to see a film is watching it without reading the credits. I don’t want to be influenced by the filmmaker. I don’t care if it’s a woman or a man,” he says. “My job consists in deciding if it’s a good film or not, and if a film is better than another one.”
“Of course if I see ROMA I know that it’s made by Alfonso Cuaron. If I see a film made by Jennifer Kent I know Jennifer Kent made the film. We watched Nightingale because we knew the filmmaker was a promising talent and so on,” he says.
“But when we see a first feature coming out of the blue from I don’t know where, when we’re looking at the quality of the filmmaking, I don’t care if it’s a man or a woman. I just care because it’s a good film,” says Barbera. “Of course I would be happy to have more females in the festival, but it doesn’t depend on me.”
“We can’t do anything about that. What can you do about that? I would be happy to say oh, I have an equal number of films made by men and women,” says Barbera. “This will happen in the future.”
Competition
First Man – Damien Chazelle (opening film)
The Mountain – Rick Alverson
Non-Fiction – Olivier Assayas
The Sisters Brothers – Jacques Audiard
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs – The Coen Brothers
Vox Lux – Brady Corbet
Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
22 July – Paul Greengrass
Suspiria – Luca Guadagnino
Werk Ohne Autor – Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
The Nightingale – Jennifer Kent
The Favorite – Yorgos Lanthimos
Peterloo – Mike Leigh
Sunset – Laszlo Nemes
Nuestro Tiempo – Carlos Reygadas
At Eternity’s Gate – Julian Schnabel
Capri-Revolution – Mario Martone
What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire – Roberto Minervini
Freres Ennemis – David Oelhoffen
Acusada – Gonzalo Tobal
Killing – Shinya Tsukamoto
Out Of Competition – Fiction
Una Storia Senza Nome – Roberto Ando
Les Estivants – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
A Star Is Born – Bradley Cooper
Mi Obra Maestra – Gaston Duprat
A Tramway In Jerusalem – Amos Gitai
Un Peuple Et Son Roi – Pierre Schoeller
La Quietud – Pablo Trapero
Dragged Across Concrete – S. Craig Zahler
Shadow – Zhang Yimou
Les Estivants – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
A Star Is Born – Bradley Cooper
Mi Obra Maestra – Gaston Duprat
A Tramway In Jerusalem – Amos Gitai
Un Peuple Et Son Roi – Pierre Schoeller
La Quietud – Pablo Trapero
Dragged Across Concrete – S. Craig Zahler
Shadow – Zhang Yimou
Out Of Competition – Non Fiction
A Letter To A Friend In Gaza – Amos Gitai
Aquarela – Victor Kossakovsky
El Pepe, Una Vida Suprema – Emir Kusturica
Carmine Street Guitars – Ron Mann
Isis, Tomorrow. The Lost Souls Of Mosul – Francesca Mannocchi, Alessio Romenzi
American Dharma – Errol Morris
Introduzione All’Oscuro – Gastón Solnicki
1938 Diversi – Giorgio Treves
Your Face – Tsai Ming-Liang
Monrovia, Indiana – Frederick Wiseman
Aquarela – Victor Kossakovsky
El Pepe, Una Vida Suprema – Emir Kusturica
Carmine Street Guitars – Ron Mann
Isis, Tomorrow. The Lost Souls Of Mosul – Francesca Mannocchi, Alessio Romenzi
American Dharma – Errol Morris
Introduzione All’Oscuro – Gastón Solnicki
1938 Diversi – Giorgio Treves
Your Face – Tsai Ming-Liang
Monrovia, Indiana – Frederick Wiseman
Out of Competitions – Special Events
The Other Side Of The Wind – Orson Welles
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead – Morgan Neville
My Brilliant Friend – Saverio Costanzo
Il Diario Di Angela – Noi Due Cineasti – Yervant Gianikian
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead – Morgan Neville
My Brilliant Friend – Saverio Costanzo
Il Diario Di Angela – Noi Due Cineasti – Yervant Gianikian
As expected, Snyder's latest is being torn apart by TIFF attendees. No mercy given. The film, which had its world premiere this evening, is being called by some one of the worst movies to ever premiere at the festival.