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The Mafia cast a long shadow on this year’s Venice Festival, or at least in several Italian films shown here that deal with organized crime syndicates and the very real and corrosive damage they continue to perpetuate on Italian society. It is now becoming apparent that the effects of the Mafia, on the institutions here, if not by sheer body count, resemble those of the Mexican drug wars, and more and more films are reflecting that realization.

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Bell Lightbox: The festival headquartersForty-five HFPA members are in Toronto for the annual film festival which now rivals Cannes and Venice for star power and movie premieres. This year the festival is showing a total of 393 films, including 142 world premieres.

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Laika Studios is one of the world’s foremost production houses dedicated to the art of stop motion animation. The Portland animation house is also a pioneer in using “replacement animation” and combining it with 3D printing.

Enjoy photos from Venice.

Here's what's going on.

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