73 Venice Film Festival

In a year when Hollywood had a massive presence on the Lido, smaller films from all corners of the world ended being selected by the jury for the top awards. The Golden Lion went to the Filipino revenge drama The Woman Who Left, by director Lav Diaz.

The 73rd Venice Film Festival officially ends on Saturday, September 10, with the presentation of the awards to this year's winners. But we're already saying arrivederci to the Lido, moving on to Toronto, the next big cinema get-together.

Summer wanes and so does the 73rd edition of the Venice Film Festival. The Lido will soon be back to its calm rhythms, as the movie circus decamps for further stops on the festival trail - Canada's Toronto International Film Festival, from September 8 to 18, Spain's San Sebastian, from 16 to 24; and, in October, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Golden Globe nominated director Pablo Larraín confirms that he is one of the brightest young talents in film making with the world premiere of his Jackie, which screened in competition on the Lido. The Chilean director has a gift for casting an oblique light of famous lives – witness the excellent Neruda, which was just screened in Cannes, on the life of his famous countryman and poet.

Ulrich Seidl has already won three Venice Festival awards, two for Paradise: Faith in 2012 and the Grand Special Jury Prize for his 2001 feature Hundstage (Dog Days). He is back now with Safari, a film that is shown in the festival’s  documentary section.

One of the most unique aspects of the Venice Film Festival is how intimate it feels, compared to similar grade AA events in the festival circuit. Maybe because it takes place on a resort island that exudes calm and relaxation, maybe because it's infused with warm Italian joy de vivre, Venice brings audiences and movies, stars and fans as close together as they can be without causing a conflagration.

The weekend arrives noisy and busy on the Lido. It's the ideal frame for parties, celebrations and assorted special events.

The Venice festival has been at the forefront of recognizing serialized fiction as an emerging and integral part of the film making landscape. Two years ago Golden Globe nominated HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge bowed at the Sala Darsena here, and this year the festival hosted the world premiere of the HBO/Canal+/Sky The Young Pope, directed by Golden Globe winning director Paolo Sorrentino, (La Grande  Bellezza, Best Foreign Film - 2013).

The HFPA met with the lovely and ever charming Amy Adams following the screening of Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival in Venice. The actress is somewhat of the Lido Queen this year as she stars in two films, Arrival and Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals – not bad for a festival debut! Arrival was met with sustained applause in the Sala Grande and Amy told us it was an emotional moment for her.

What is the proper word? Falicia? Vibender? Does it matter? On the second day on the Lido the Light was on the red carpet, and the fans found it very good. Golden Globe nominees Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender - who met and became an item on the set of Derek Cianfrance's The Light Between Oceans - were everywhere as their film screened in competition- followed closely by Golden Globe winner Amy Adams and Golden Globe nominee Jeremy Renner, stars of Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, and Lido veteran Wim Wenders, his excellent sneaker collection and his The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez.