At the opening ceremony, the honorary Golden Lion was presented to Italian director Robert Benigni
The 78th Venice International Film Festival, the world’s oldest film festival, opened tonight with the latest work by Pedro Almodovar competing for the Golden Lion Grand Prix along with prominent colleagues such as Jane Champion and Paolo Sorentina.
Almodovar, 71, a two-time Oscar winner, has yet to receive a major award in Venice. He presents his new film “Madres Paralelas” at the Lido, starring his favorite actress Penelope Cruz.
The film tells the story of two women who give birth on the same day in the same maternity hospital.
The director and his muse, both dressed in black, walked the traditional red carpet of the palace, on the Lido in Venice opposite the sea, with a flash of the camera, but without the audience, for measures against covid.
At the opening ceremony, the honorary Golden Lion was presented to the Italian director Robert Benigni, the unforgettable author of the film “Life is Beautiful”. The award was presented to him by New Zealand director Jane Campion.
The president of the jury of “Orizzontija” is director Jasmila Zbanic.
Last year, the festival was held in a narrowed edition, before the anti-cancer vaccines arrived. Although health measures are still being applied, this year’s Mostra will be marked by the return of the big names of the film to Lido, with more than 59 countries represented.
