Stars galore

The winners were among 21 contenders vying for the top prize in a festival that swarmed with top Hollywood talent, from Angelina Jolie to George Clooney. Venice’s red carpet this season saw the likes of Lady Gaga, starring with Joaquin Phoenix in the sequel to Todd Phillips’ antihero film “Joker”, as well as Brad Pitt, whose action comedy “Wolfs” with Clooney premiered out of competition. Jolie took on the role of opera diva Maria Callas in Pablo Larrain’s “Maria”. Films this year did not shy away from difficult subject matter, whether contemporary or historical.

Abortion (“April”), white supremacy (“The Order”), the Mafia (“Sicilian Letters”), and enforced disappearances and killings during Brazil’s military dictatorship (“I’m Still Here”) were all examined in the main competition films. Several films explored war and its crushing repercussions, whether documentaries on the war in Ukraine or the conflict between the Zionist entity and Palestinians. Among the most controversial was “Russians at War” from Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova, who went behind the lines of the Ukraine war with Russian soldiers.

“Russian soldiers are not someone whose voices are heard,” Trofimova told journalists ahead of the screening. But the film prompted outrage in Ukrainian cultural and political circles for its inclusion at Venice, with many casting it as a pro-Kremlin film seeking to whitewash Russia’s assault. The festival also honored American actress Sigourney Weaver and Australian director Peter Weir with lifetime achievement awards. —AFP