Gravity to open Venice film festival - but will George Clooney be there?

n his 70. Edition, Venice, the oldest festival of world cinema, affixed to the old formula and it never disappoints - a feature of great potential public opening, Gravity , directed by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, and movies called "the author "spread over several shows, especially the main section, 70 Venice, which gives your winning the coveted Golden Lion.

One of the most important awards of the cinematography world and certainly the most beautiful, with the figure of the winged lion, symbol of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. Who wants to see the model of the trophy should go to the Piazza San Marco and see the lion with wings on one of the piers that overlook the lagoon. It is a majestic sight, though popularized by mass tourism.
The festival takes place on the other side of the lagoon, at the Lido, the main island of the Venetian complex. There, in that strip of land long and gentle, these will be displayed select contestants - 20 titles, among which predominate Italian and American - which also is not really new.

With Gravity , Cuarón, director of fun and also your Mother, now invests in the sci-fi genre and has two trump cards in the cast, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, the American actor most beloved in Italy. Gravity in 3D, opens officially tomorrow "to show", as the festival is handled by here - as if there were no other possible competition and, although suffering Venice come in recent years, the harassment of Toronto and its powerful market. The Canadian festival begins right in the middle of the show and leads a flock of celebrities back to the other side of the Atlantic. But the Italians remain undaunted. What make is this concession, the authors merge celebrities Popular magazines like Cahiers du Cinéma and Positif to the general public.

This strain authorial attend in abundance to the Lido to attend the old festival founded in 1932, Mussolini was in full. For example, the Lido is one habitué as the Israeli Amos Gitai with Ana Arabia, a darling of Cahiers post-nouvelle vague as Philippe Garrel with your La Jalousie (Jealousy). And the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, which insists on drawing their stories by artisans in a time when digital platforms prevail and take the drudgery. The American James Franco comes with Child of God, that just seeing it.

Good news is the return of the show Gianni Amelio. Amelio, who gave Italy its last Golden Lion in 1998 with Ria If that is so, now brings L'Intrepid, which reflects on the precariousness of contemporary work. A film by Amelio always creates a huge expectation. Not only because it is loved among Italian cinema, but because it is one of the last true authors of a cinematographic crossing endless crisis, including quality, something that is discussed every year at the Lido.

There are also reasons to wait impatiently for Stray Dogs, Tsai Ming-liang, and Tom à la Ferme, Xavier Dolan. The inventive Terry Gilliam brings The Zero Theorem, according to him, contemporary version of Brazil, your favorite exercise in dystopia.

Another noteworthy aspect is the main show the presence of two documentaries among competitors, a fact that had never occurred and is proof of the vitality of the genre. Holy grail, Gianfranco Rosi, of Rome, and The Unknown Known - Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld, directed by Errol Morris. Brings, is what it says, a great testimonial Hawk Bush should provoke controversy similar to enlightening talks Robert McNamara in The Fog of War, Morris also. When these large predators open the game, who profits is the story.

If the competitive primary is packed with attractions, the menu of hors concours not seem less attractive. A space fantasy Severity opens the festival, but is far from awakening the expectation, at least among cinephiles. For them, excites the return of Ettore Scola. Teacher and author of such masterpieces as We Both Loved Each Other in-One Very Special Day, Scola had left the scene with a great noise, stating that it was increasingly difficult to film in Italy and with his advanced age, already considered retired . Well: and returned with a heavy theme - nothing less than a film about one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Che Strano Chiamarsi Federico!, Ie, What Strange Call to Federico (Fellini), perhaps the greatest of all. Only one thing can harm this "Scola Raconta Fellini": the immense expectations placed in him.