There are no Hollywood stars in Venice. Venice Film Festival focuses on Europe

AGI – The Venice Film Festival, which over the past decade has become a favorite spectacle of Hollywood cinema in Europe, will begin its 80th edition next Wednesday, marked by a strike by American actors that risks eclipsing the traditional red carpet show.

Is it possible to have a festival without stars?

Alberto Barbera, Artistic Director, seems determined to showcase this with a program full of films from great directors, from David Fincher to Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Bradley Cooper, Woody Allen, Richard Linklater, Pablo Larraine, J.A. Bayona and Michael Mannamong the others.

Some actors like Adam Driver, Jessica Chastain and Mads Mikkelsen confirmed their participation, according to sources in the organization, however, most Hollywood stars – Carey Mulligan, Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Penelope Cruz – did not.

The presence of these stars is highly doubtful due to the lack of progress in the conflict between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), which has been on strike since July 14, and the Film and Television Producers Alliance (Amptp). , which includes major studios and platforms.

In the strike, which coincided with the Writers Guild (Wga) strike, actors are calling for regulation of artificial intelligence, higher streaming fees and higher minimum wages, among other things, hurting audiovisual production, filming and promotion in the United States. For actors, going on strike means not only refusing to participate in filming, but also refusing to participate in red carpets, interviews or public meetings.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the only film excluded from the Venice program due to the strike is a film scheduled to be shown in 1980. The Challengers exhibition, an American production by an Italian director. Luca Guadagnino and starring Zendaya, who was replaced by “Commander” Edoardo de Angelis. Pierfrancesco Favino.

The organization is looking to the stars of independent AmpTP projects such as Ferrari, Michael Mann’s biopic of the legendary Enzo Ferrari, distributed in the US by independent publisher Neon. From the main composition – Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley

– the only one confirmed so far – the first one.

But there are also European and Latin American productions with stars like Mads Mikkelsen in the Danish “Bastarden” by Nicholas Arcel; Léa Seydoux in the French film “La Bete” Bertrand Bonello; Lily James and Willem Dafoe in Alba Finally Xavier Constantius; and Jessica Chastain in Michel Franco’s Mexican Memory. Also confirmed the participation of Caleb Landry Jones in the French film “Dogmen” Luc Besson and Jacob Elordi for the independent American newspaper Priscilla.

80. Scheduled from 30 August to 9 September, the Venice Film Festival still maintains its cinematic interest, even if it is impossible to ignore the importance and influence of the media that the red carpet parade has on film promotion. Just think of the unexpected appearance Florence Pugh last year at the premiere of Don’t Worry Darling, amid controversy with Olivia Wilde AND Harry Stylesor Timothée Chalamet, who presented “Bones and Everything” in red silk and with an open back.

Even the complicity shown Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain to the preview of Scenes from a Wedding in 2021 that went viral, or the long-awaited image of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck together, which officially sealed their relationship, at the launch of The Last Duel in the same year.

Meanwhile, the festival announced a few days ago that there will be master classes from directors such as Wes Anderson, Nicolas Winding Refn and Damien Chazelle, who will also chair the official section jury along with members such as Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Love, Laura Poitras and Argentinean Santiago Mitra. Wes Anderson, who will present The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, will also be honored with the Cartier Glory Award, given to a director for his or her original contribution to the modern film industry.