Italian Movie Opens 66th Venice Film Festival

Giuseppe Tornatore’s Epic Baarìa Launches European Film Fest

Sep 10, 2009

For the first time in almost two decades, an Italian movie has been selected to open the Venice Film Festival.

The Italian film Baarìa opened the 66th Venice Film Festival. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, probably best known for the 1990 Oscar-winning Cinema Paradiso, it is the first Italian film in nearly 20 years to do so.

Set in Tornatore’s native Bagheria (known as Baaria in the local Sicilian dialect), Baarìa is an epic tale that unfolds over several generations and spans key moments in Italy’s 20th-century history: Fascism, World War II, the rise of the Communist Party and the post-war period up to the 1980s.

The movie stars Italian heavyweights Monica Bellucci and Vincenzo Salemme, as well as relative newcomer Francesco Scianna and ex-model Margareth Madè in her first acting role.

Baarìa had an estimated budget of $30 million, making it one of the most expensive Italian movies in recent years. Veteran composer Ennio Morricone, who has written the music for hundreds of Italian and Hollywood films, composed the score.

New Festival Section Showcases Italian Cinema

The 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival, considered one of the top three European film festivals, has a rich offering of Italian productions. In addition to Baarìa, which is competing for the Golden Lion, the festival’s top award, three other Italian movies are also in competition: La Doppia Ora (Giuseppe Capotondi), Lo Spazio Bianco (Francesca Comencini) and Il Grande Sogno (Michele Placido).

The film festival also has a new section this year, Controcampo Italiano, specifically established to showcase Italian cinema. Films in this section include Toni d’Angelo’s Poeti, Marco Filiberti’s Il Compleanno and Valerio Mieli’s Dieci Inverni.

Films Competing for the Golden Lion

A total of 24 films are competing for the festival’s Golden Lion award. Besides the four Italian entries, several American films are also participating. These include Capitalism: A Love Story, documentary-maker Michael Moore’s latest critical offering, and A Simple Man, the directorial debut from fashion designer Tom Ford, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.

For the third time in four years all the films in competition are world premieres, and of the 75 feature films screening in the four official selections, 71 are world premieres. The remaining four are international premieres.

The festival's jury is headed by Ang Lee. The Taiwanese director won the 2005 Golden Lion for the gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain, starring the late Heath Ledger.

The Venice Film Festival runs until September 12, 2009. Baarìa is on general release in Italy from September 25.

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