I hope next year I will be adding the Venice Film Festival to my list of travels as this year I plan on hitting Cannes and Toronto in an effort to bring you as much early reporting on upcoming films as possible. However, it’s not like money grows on trees so only one overseas adventure made the budget this year, but it seems like those that do hit up the 67th Venice Film Festival will have plenty to talk about, and hopefully those same films will find their way to Toronto only a few days later.
First off, it was announced today Quentin Tarantino will chair the International Jury for the main competition of the 67th Venice International Film Festival, which awards the Golden Lion and other official prizes. In the announcement festival president Marco Mueller was quoted saying, “Tarantino has been one of the most startling directors in cinema today. As a filmmaker, he has become a studied and imitated ‘point of reference’, and he is perhaps the only American auteur to be adored worldwide like a rock star.”
Next, Variety notes Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, Monte Hellman’s noir Road to Nowhere, Julian Schnabel’s Miral and Francois Ozon’s Potiche are all expected to find a slot in the official selection. Also, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded to Asian and Hollywood director and producer, John Woo.
The official line-up of the 67th edition will be announced in a press conference that will take place in Rome at the end of July 2010. The festival runs September 1-11.
