| WHISPERS FROM THE LIDO : Venice '08 speculation : updated Sat.6.Sep : 'WRESTLER' WINS LION |
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| Saturday, 09 August 2008 | |
 WINNERS Golden Lion : The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky) Special Jury Prize : Teza (Haile Gerima) Best Director : Alexey German (Paper Soldier) Best Actor : Silvio Orlando (Giovanna's Father) Best Actress : Dominique Blanc (L'Autre) Screenplay : Teza (Haile Gerima) Cinematography : Paper Soldier (A Khamidhodjaev & M Drozdov) Best Young Actor/Actress : Jennifer Lawrence (The Burning Plain) Special Lion for Overall Work : Werner Schroeter (in competition with Nuit de Chien) 'collateral awards' FIPRESCI Award : Gabbla (Tariq Teguia) SIGNIS Award : The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) special mentions : Teza (Haile Gerima) & Vegas - Based on a True Story (Amir Naderi) surprisingly snubbed : Jerichow, Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea, BirdWatchers, Rachel Getting Married RECENT AWARDS HISTORY : THE BIG 3 + 1 Golden Lion speculation updated Saturday, September 6th at 1958 BST (final predictions) 1 : FRONT RUNNERS 1 - Teza (Gerima) 2 - Jerichow (Petzold) ... Best Director or Best Screenplay 3 - Inland (Teguia) ... Director or Screenplay (see Jerichow above) 4 - The Wrestler (Aronofsky) ... Best Actor for Mickey Rourke (nap) 2 : DANGEROUS BirdWatchers (Bechis) ... Jury Grand Prix Paper Soldier (German) ... technical prize? best director? Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Miyazaki) ... some kind of "Special Award" Rachel Getting Married (Demme) ... Anne Hathaway for Best Actress 3 : MID-RANKING L'autre (Bernard/Trivdic) The Hurt Locker (Bigelow) Milk (Kaplanoglu) Vegas - Based on a True Story (Naderi) 4 : UNLIKELY Achilles and the Tortoise (Kitano) The Burning Plain (Arriaga) A Perfect Day (Ozpetek) Il Seme della discordia (Corsicato) [but don't be too stunned if this one somehow wins something big!] The Sky Crawlers (Oshii) 5 : LONGSHOTS Giovanna's Father (Avati) Inju, the Beast in the Shadow (Schroeder) Nuit de Chien (Schroeter) Plastic City (Yu) Jury : Wim Wenders (Germany; president); Yurij Nikolaevic Arabov (Russian Federation); Valeria Golino (Italy); Douglas Gordon (UK); John Landis (USA); Lucrecia Martel (Argentina); Johnnie To (China, Hong Kong). COMPETITION ** The Wrestler : Darren Aronofsky (1969) : USA : 105m Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood Dir: The Fountain (2006); Requiem For A Dream (2000), Pi (1998). "The film centers on Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a 1980s-era star pro wrestler who has become a burnt-out shell of his former self. After he has a heart attack during a small-time match, a doctor tells him he could die if he fights again. In an effort to build a new life, Robinson takes a job at a deli, moves in with an aging stripper and tries to build a relationship with her son. But the prospect of a rematch with his old nemesis the Ayatollah proves too tempting to resist, even if it means risking his life." * The Burning Plain : Guillermo Arriaga (1958) : USA : 147m Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Joaquim de Almeida Dir: debut, wrote Babel (2006), The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), 21 Grams (2003), etc Theron is Sylvia, a woman coming to terms with a decidedly difficult family childhood. Needless to say, Arriaga will provide the screenplay as well. According to the filmmaker, "There are very intense love stories here that take place in different places and times, with characters trying to find the healing powers of love, forgiveness and redemption..." Word is that this one will feature Arriaga's now-patented multi-overlapping story technique. Giovanna's Father (Il Papa di Giovanna) : Pupi Avati (1938) : Italy : 104m Silvio Orlando, Alba Rohrwacher, Francesca Neri Dir: The Hideout (2007), La Cena per farli conoscere (2007), La Seconda notte di nozze (2005), etc "the story of a father dealing with his daughter's horrible crime..." "a young student who murders a classmate in 1930s Tuscany." ** BirdWatchers (La Terra degli uomini rossi) : Marco Bechis : Ity/Brz : 108m Claudio Santamara, Alicélia Batista Cabreira, Chiara Caselli Dir: Sons and Daughters (2001), Garage Olimpo (1999), Luca's Film (1997), etc. "The 'fazendeiros' lead a wealthy and leisurely existence. They own huge fields with transgenic plantations and they spend their nights with tourists who come birdwatching. Meanwhile, at the borders of their lands, the uneasiness of the indios, who were the legitimate inhabitants of those lands, is rapidly growing. Enclosed in reserves, with no other perspective except that of working as semi-slaves in sugarbeet plantations, many young people commit suicide. And it is a suicide which stirs up a rebellion." * The Other One (L'Autre aka Occupation) : P.M.Bernard & Pierre Trividic : France : 97m Dominique Blanc, Cyril Gueï, Peter Bonke Bernard: Dancing (2003), This Is a Pipe (2001) Trividic: Dancing (2003), This Is a Pipe (2001); co-wrote Lady Chatterley (2006), etc. "Paris-set [fantasy] thriller" * The Hurt Locker : Kathryn Bigelow (1951) : USA : 131m Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse Dir: K-19 - The Widowmaker (2002), The Weight of Water (2000), Strange Days (1995), etc "Iraq cat-and-mouse thriller ... shot in Jordan." Il Seme Della Discordia : Pappi Corsicato (1960) : Italy : 85m Caterina Murino, Alessandro Gassman, Martina Stella Dir: Chimera (2001), Black Holes (1995), Libera (1993). comedy "about an infertile Italo macho who finds out his wife is pregnant" * Rachel Getting Married : Jonathan Demme (1944) : USA : 116m Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger, Bill Irwin Dir: Jimmy Carter - Man From Plains (2007), Neil Young - Heart of Gold (2006), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), etc "the story of an ex-model who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding." ** Teza : Haile Gerima (1946) : Eth/Ger/Fr : 140m Aron Arefe, Abiye Tedia, Takelech Beyene Dir: Adua (1999), Sankofa (1993), After Winter - Sterling Brown (1985), etc "Anberber has studied in Germany and returns post-graduate to Ethiopia. He is full of hope that he can support his country with his newly acquired knowledge. It's a story about hope and disillusionment, about foreignness and homeland." * Paper Soldier (Bumaznyi Soldat) : Aleksy German Jr. (1976) : Russia : 116m Chulpan Khamatova, Merab Ninidze, Anastasya Shevelyova Dir: Garpastum (2005), The Last Train (2003). "The film is devoted to the Russia's history. The film events take place in 1961 at the Soviet Cosmodrome Baikonur." * Milk (Sut) : Semih Kaplanoglu (1963) : Tur/Fr/Ger : 102m Melih Selcuk, Basak Koklukaya Dir: The Egg (2007), Melegin dususu (2005), Away From Home (2001), etc "In MILK, and in the Yusuf Trilogy in general, I want to focus on the centre of the painful change that is currently being played out within the mother-son relationship in Turkey." Achilles and the Tortoise (Akires to Kame) : Takeshi Kitano : Japan : 119m 'Beat' Takeshi, Kanako Higuchi, Yurei Yanagi Dir: Glory to the Filmmaker! (2007), Takeshis' (2005), Zatoichi (2003), etc "Takeshi stars as a talentless but dedicated artist." * Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea : Hayao Miyazaki (1941) : Japan : 101m animated Dir: Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Spirited Away (2001), Princess Mononoke (1997), etc "The plot centers on a goldfish named Ponyo who desperately wants to be a human. In pursuing her goal, she befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sōsuke." * Vegas: Based on a True Story : Amir Naderi (1946) : USA : 102m Mark Greenfield, Nancy La Scala, Zach Thomas Dir: Sound Barrier (2005), Marathon (2002), A,B,C... Manhattan (1997), etc "a pointed moral tale about people who become so obsessed with money they destroy every good thing they have." * The Sky Crawlers : Oshii Mamoru (1951) : Japan : 122m animated Dir: Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008), Tachiguishi - Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters (2006), Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence (2004), etc "The film is based on a popular six-part novel by a best-selling writer, MORI Hiroshi. The novel has sold more than 800,000 copies in Japan alone. The story unfolds in another possible 'now.' The main characters are youngsters called "Kildren", who are destined to live eternally in their adolescence, and fight a "war as a show" organized and operated by adults." Perfect Day (Un Giorno Perfetto) : Ferzan Ozpetek (1959) : Italy : 95m Isabella Ferrari, Valerio Mastandrea, Stefania Sandrelli Dir: Saturn In Opposition (2007), Sacred Heart (2005), Facing Windows (2003), etc "depicts 24 hours in crazed contempo Rome" *** Jerichow : Christian Petzold (1960) : Germany : 93m Nina Hoss, Benno Fürmann, Hilmi Sözer Dir: Yella (2007), Ghosts (2005), Wolfsburg (2003), etc "a young man returns to his small hometown in Eastern Germany and begins a passionate love affair with a married woman. When her husband learns of her unfaithfulness, a perfidious plan triggers off a catastrophe." * Inju, la Bete Dans l'Ombre : Barbet Schroeder (1941) : France : 105m Benoît Magimel, Minamoto Lika, Ryo Ishibashi Dir: Terror's Advocate (2007), Murder By Numbers (2002), Our Lady of the Assassins (2000), etc "a Japan-set thriller based on a book by cult noir scribe Edogawa Rampo" * Nuit de Chien : Werner Schroeter (1945) : Fr/Ger/Por : 110m Pascal Greggory, Amira Casar, Jean-François Stevenin Dir: Two (2002), Der Konigin - Marianne Hoppe (2000), Love's Debris (1996), etc "Published in 1943, the novel inspired by an episode in the Spanish War describes a city in a state of siege and split into rival factions, against a backdrop of betrayal and power games. The stakes revolve around a boat, which represents the only hope of escaping the city's bombardment." Inland (Gabbla) : Tariq Teguia (1966) : Alg/Fr : 140m Kader Affak, Ines Rose Djakou, Fethi Ghares Dir: Rome Rather Than You (2006). "A topographer meets a traumatised woman in western Algeria who persuades him to accompany her back home across the Sahara and through war-torn regions in the east." Plastic City (Dangkou) : Yu Lik-wai (1966) : Brz/Chi/Jpn Joe Odagiri, Anthony Wong, Huang Yi Dir: All Tomorrow's Parties (2003), Love Will Tear Us Apart (1999), Neon Goddesses (1996). "It sets father and son immigrant gangsters against each other and against the Sao Paulo mafia before shifting to the Amazon for the denouement." OUT OF COMPETITION features Puccini e la Fanciulla : Paolo Benvenuti : Italy : 84 * Yuppi Du : Adriano Celantano : Italy : 125 * Burn After Reading : Joel and Ethan Coen : U.S. : 95 : (opening film) *** 35 Shots of Rum : Claire Denis : Fr/Spn : 100 ** Shirin : Abbas Kiarostami : Iran : 100m * Les Plages d'Agnes : Agnes Varda : France : 100 * Vinyan : Fabrice du Welz : Fr/U.K./Bel : 95 ** Encarnacao do Demonio : Jose Mojica Marins : Brazil : 90 Tutto e Musica : (1973) : Domenico Modugno : Italy : 97 Orfeo 9 : (1973) : Tito Shipa Jr : Italy : 82 Volare (Nel Blue Dipinto di Blu) : (1959) : Piero Tellini : Italy : 104 HORIZONS / ORIZZONTI * Ramin Bahrani : Goodbye Solo : USA : 91 J.Bressane & R.Dias : A Erva do Rato : Brazil : 80 Arnaud des Pallières : Parc : France : 149 * Lav Diaz : Melancholia : Philippines : 450 ** Philippe Grandrieux : Un lac : France : 90 * Mikhail Kalatozishvili : Dikoe Pole (Wild Field) : Russia : 104 Mirko Locatelli : Il primo giorno d'inverno : Italy : 88 ** Gerardo Naranjo : Voy a explotar : Mexico : 106 Francis Xavier Pasion : Jay : Philippines : 96 Marco Pontecorvo : PA-RA-DA : Ity/Fr/Rom : 100 Tariq Tapa : Zero Bridge : Ind/USA : 96 J-P Duret & A.Santana : Puisque nous sommes nés : Fr/Brzl : 90 : DOCU HUANG Wenhai Wo Men : Chi/Swi : 102 : DOCU * Ross McElwee : In Paraguay : USA : 78 : DOCU Avi Mograbi : Z32 - Israel / France, 81 : DOCU Gianfranco Rosi : Below Sea Level : Italy / USA, 110 : DOCU *** Eugenio Polgovsky : Los Herederos : Mexico, 90 : DOCU A.Schtakleff & J. Le Fourn : L'Exil et le royaume : France : 165 : DOCU Emily Tang : A Perfect Life : China/HK : 97 Bahman Motamedian : Tedium : Iran : 76 prize contenders --- 1. Voy a explotar // 2. Los herederos // 3. Un lac // 4. Goodbye Solo // 5. Melancholia ****** WINNER : MELANCHOLIA ******* special mention: Un Lac. Doc winner: Below Sea Level; special mention: Wo Men ORIZZONTI EVENTS Laura Angiulli : Verso Est : Ity/Bos : 70 : DOCU Pietro Balla, Monica Repetto : ThyssenKrupp Blues : Italy : 73 : DOCU Mimmo Calopresti : La fabbrica dei tedeschi : Italy : 90 : DOCU Daniele Di Biasio : Soltanto un nome nei titoli di testa : Italy : 52 : DOCU Carlo Di Carlo : Antonioni su Antonioni : Italy : 55 : DOCU Antonello Sarno : Venezia ‘68 : Italy : 39 : DOCU * Matt Tyrnauer : Valentino: The Last Emperor : USA, 96 : DOCU asterisks indicate particularly interesting-looking titles
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