Alfonso Cuaron is slated to head the jury to the Venice Film Festival in September.
Alfonso Cuaron is slated to head the jury to the Venice Film Festival in September.
The Venice Film Festival oddly chose to announce the jury president on the same day that the Cannes Film Festival kicked off. The announcement seems oddly timed as Cannes is the most important festival and it currently has all the press attending. Additionally, Venice has been on a decline for some time as it has been overshadowed by Toronto and other newer festivals.
Nevertheless, Cuaron will be back to Venice, where he recently opened the festival with “Gravity.” Cuaron has also presented two other films at Venice including 2001’s “Y Tu Mamà También” and 2006’s “Children Of Men.” The former won the Osella Award for Best Screenplay and the Marcello Mastroianni Award (for stars Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna), while “Children Of Men” later won the Osella Award for Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography.
Cuaron’s election is part of Venice’s chief Alberto Barbera plan to bring high-profile stars and premieres to the event. Cuaron is the second Latin American director to be part of a jury at a major film festival. At Cannes, Guillermo del Toro is currently part of the jury for the competition slate.
Venice is the oldest film festival and has been on a role as of late obtaining a number of Oscar nominated films to open the festival. Last year, Oscar winner “Birdman” opened the festival while in 2013 “Gravity” had the honor. Other opening nights have included Oscar nominees “Atonement” and “Black Swan.”
A number of Oscar-nominated films have been discovered at the festival including “The Wrestler,” which won the Golden Lion, and “A Single Man,” which won Colin Firth Best Actor before going on to get nominated for the Oscars.
There is no word about which film will open at Venice. However, there is some speculation that Del Toro may open with “Crimson Peak.” That would complete the trio of the “amigos” as both Cuaron and Inarritu have already opened the festival.
The Venice Film Festival runs from Sept. 2-12.
Culled from Variety
