Festivals

Joker sought to add to its Venice momentum with the North American premiere at TIFF. Todd Phillips’ deep dive into a super villain hinges on Joaquin Phoenix’s tour de force performance and is part origin story part psychological horror which pushes the anti-hero envelope by eliciting an uncomfortable empathy from audiences for an “indefensible” protagonist.

The curtain came down on the 76th Venice Film Festival with a historic win for Joker. Todd Phillips’ dark, atmospheric and occasionally disturbing origin story is the first superhero franchise-related film to take the Golden lion on the Lido.

Just before the official closing with the awaited announcement of winners, the Venice festival was finally drenched by the rain that rarely sits out the festival on the lagoon. Also contributing to stirring up the climate were the hundreds of protesters who showed up and set up camp on the red carpet, vowing not to move and shut down the evening premiere of Burnt Orange Heresy, the art world thriller by Giuseppe Capotondi set to close the festival.

Neutrals ruled, while men went colorful.

Nate Parker’s new film is a lesson in race relations in a country with a current government that is not famous for knowing or caring much about this topic. Police brutality is as much on the rise as school shootings.

The Lido was alive with the sound of her speaking voice: Dame Julie Andrews, the daughter of two English vaudeville performers who played her first part when she was four, received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Acting from the Venice Film Festival and held a master class that was not so much a class as an extended interview about her past and even more so her future. The 83-year old said she “was just the lucky girl who was asked to play all those wonderful roles” and they clearly keep on coming.

Stars were out and so was the sun – for once! The HFPA Reception has become a Venice film Festival tradition, undaunted by the downpours which had dogged the event in recent years. This year the sun shone bright, however, as festivalgoers, industry types and filmmakers converged poolside at the Excelsior Hotel.

Festivalgoers know that the first weekend is the best moment of the event -  second only to the unveiling of the winners. This year was no different - hot, in every sense of the word.

Despite the Venice heat, oodles of material offset the sheath. Trousers also popped up, while men stayed classic.

Any major festival worthy of the name has its controversies and this year’s Mostra del Cinema (the official name of the Venice Festival) has Roman Polanski. Ever since the selection of his J’Accuse was announced last month in the official competition, it has predictably been controversial.