Schneider Electric Expands Youth Partnership with Enactus to Drive Inclusive Energy Transition in Egypt    China's Jiangsu Zhengyong to build $85m factory in Egypt's Ain Sokhna: SCZONE    Egyptian pound ticks up vs. US dollar at Thursday's close    Egypt condemns Israeli plan to build 3,400 settler homes in West Bank    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Egypt, China ink $1bn agreement for Sailun tire plant in SCZONE    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt's Electricity Minister discusses progress on Greece power link    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, bilateral ties in calls with Saudi, South African counterparts    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    27 Western countries issue joint call for unimpeded aid access to Gaza    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Australia to recognise Palestinian state in September, New Zealand to decide    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Global matcha market to surpass $7bn by 2030: Nutrition expert    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt, Uganda strengthen water cooperation, address Nile governance    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Korean Cultural Centre in Cairo launches folk painting workshop    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Stars, taboo sex and death at Venice film fest
The 70th edition of the oldest international film festival opens with the world premiere of space fantasy film 'Gravity' starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock
Published in Ahram Online on 26 - 08 - 2013

Space, stars and taboo sex will be on display in Venice this week as the world's oldest international film festival fights to keep its head above water in a city slowly slipping into the sea.
The 70th Venice Film Festival will try and see off competition from increasingly popular extravaganzas in Rome and Toronto by opening with the world premiere of 3D space fantasy "Gravity", starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.
Directed by Mexico's Alfonso Cuaron, of "Children of Men" and Harry Potter-sequel fame, the film depicts Bullock and Clooney as astronauts cast adrift after disaster strikes their shuttle.
"I think the main theme of Venice is that it is proving it is not letting Toronto take the wind out of its sails," Jay Weissberg, film critic for trade publication Variety, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"The number of English-language films is phenomenal and the Rome festival hasn't hurt it at all."
Big names appearing in films vying for Venice's Golden Lion include Scarlett Johansson as an alien in "Under the Skin", Zac Efron in "Parkland" set at the Dallas hospital where John F Kennedy was taken after he was shot, and Matt Damon in dystopian fantasy "The Zero Theorem" directed by Terry Gilliam.
Nicolas Cage stars as an ex-convict in the U.S. southern backwoods movie "Joe" while Judi Dench searches for the child she was forced to give up for adoption in "Philomena".
The festival's unlikeliest "star" will be former Iraq-war era U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the documentary "The Unknown Known" that takes its title from his famous maxim about threats we know about, and those we don't.
Rumsfeld does not make any earth-shattering revelations, London-based film promoter Charles McDonald said, but "It is a fascinating look at the man. It's compelling stuff, absolutely," he added.
The prize for tackling the most unfilmable subject will have to go to 21st-century Renaissance man James Franco, whose movie is based on Cormac McCarthy's slim but gruesome novel "Child of God" about a Tennessee backwoodsman who gets his kicks having sex with women's corpses.
"Everything Franco does seems impossible," Weissberg said, adding that the film had been described as "half 'Deliverance' and half Charlie Chaplin".
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOUR
Considered one of the world's big three film festivals, along with Cannes and Berlin, Venice has struggled to rid itself of a reputation as a high-cost venue for exhibitors.
Italy is represented in competition by a documentary, Gianfranco Rosi's "Sacro Gra", about life tucked away along the ring road around Rome, and Gianni Amelio's "L'Intrepido" about an unemployed man who makes a living taking over the jobs of people who have to be absent for one reason or another.
There is much advance interest in Taiwan Chinese director Tsai Ming-Liang's "Jiaoyou" ("Stray Dogs") about a father and his two children who eke out an existence in modern Taipei, and their visitation by a strange woman.
Israeli director Amos Gitai's "Ana Arabia" tells the story of a young woman journalist who visits a small, mixed community of Jews and Arabs living together on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
Gitai, a veteran of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war whose helicopter was shot down by a Syrian missile, is widely respected abroad but divides opinion at home because of his exploration of ethnic and religious tensions.
The festival's jury is headed by veteran Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, best known for his steamy 1972 movie "Last Tango in Paris" starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/79940.aspx


Clic here to read the story from its source.