Here we are, good evening Director. Good evening, thank you so much for accepting this invitation. It's a pleasure, naturally. Director, I must congratulate you on the last festival, which was magnificent, both in terms of media coverage and participation. I think it was the most beautiful of the last few years.
Yes, I believe that's a shared opinion. I say this not to boast, but because all the feedback and responses I received during and after the festival were probably the most successful edition ever. Naturally, in every sense, we had an enormous increase in spectators, 14% more than the previous year, which is a lot, with many guests filling the red carpet every day, and a level of appreciation for the films that I dare say is superior to the past. So everyone seemed very happy, from spectators to critics, journalists, and even the directors, actors, and producers who came to Venice this year.
Director, did you ever expect an event like this? In the sense, from when you started, there were incredible moments that even today are talked about. Truly, it was a manifestation that had some news every day that really excited us.
No, I didn't expect it. It's always very difficult to have the necessary distance to understand exactly what you're building. And even after we closed the selection, announced the program, etc., I was always a bit surprised that the reception of the announcement was better than my expectations. And then, honestly, I didn't expect the success that this year's edition had: so participated, so intense, so affectionate, so enthusiastic, perhaps as never before, certainly not during the 12 years of my direction.
Well, what struck me also was the participation of the summer, in the sense not so much of presence but what they conveyed. You could see this year the stars, say, of the highest level, like George Clooney and Brad Pitt, who felt at home and at the same time were happy to be at the festival. This was something that conveyed more to me than other editions.
Well, you have to consider that last year no one came, I think especially the Americans, because of the strike. So for them, it was like returning home to a festival they love so much, because no one hides that Venice constitutes an enormous attraction, even for American actors and directors from all over the world. So for them to return to Venice after years of absence was a joy that was conveyed in their presence on the red carpet and in all the events they were involved in. Well, the show by Brad Pitt and George Clooney was something absolutely epic that I believe will be remembered for years, because even though we have witnessed in the past very participated red carpets with great availability from the stars to meet spectators, sign autographs, and submit to the photographers' barrage, well, I must say that the show put on by the two friends was absolutely unprecedented and absolutely unforgettable.
And what was, according to you, the cinematographic surprise of this last festival that perhaps didn't expect the reception it had? That is, to ask for your opinion on something that perhaps struck you more than expected.
But it's difficult to say because most of the films were very anticipated, from Joker 2 to Luca Guadagnino's film, to Pedro Almodóvar's film, they were films that were talked about but no one had seen yet, but there was great anticipation around these titles. What surprised me was that even titles, say, practically unknown, by not yet established authors, had a very warm reception. For example, I think of the first film from Singapore that has never been in competition in the main competition of Venice, which received very positive reviews and an audience reception that was truly enthusiastic. Or the film by the director, Georgiana, called April, which also won the special jury prize, which is a very difficult film that I feared might provoke contrasting or even negative reactions, and instead it was appreciated so much that the jury even awarded it a prize. So that was perhaps one of the main surprises. We will also see it in Italy because it naturally has an Italian distributor. It's a film that had then moved to other festivals and continues a world tour at which it is invited. Well, this is a young director on her second work that we need to keep an eye on because she is truly an important voice in world contemporary cinema.
Director, since you mentioned Joker 2, I want to say that I saw it and liked it a lot because perhaps I saw some criticism.
I'm very happy that you liked it because frankly I don't understand the negative reactions. I can understand that the audience might be disconcerted by a film that is not a banal sequel to the previous one, but a much more radical film that dares, goes much beyond, invents a narrative and aesthetic development truly very different from the previous film. What I don't understand are the critics' reservations, but it's the typical case of a film that is so ahead of its times that it will be reassessed in the future. I'm sure that in a few years, even those who spoke poorly of it will have to recognize the great qualities of this film, which for me, in many aspects, is even superior to the previous one, which was also an extraordinary film.
I wanted to take the opportunity to ask, have the submissions as productions for the festival increased in recent years? If you can give us an overview.
Yes, they have increased a lot. We have arrived now at this last edition to receive over 4,250 films, which is an enormous number, all included, naturally feature films, documentaries, short films, etc. The greatest growth was, for example, in short films. We went from 1,600-1,700 titles to 2,200. It's incredible, right? Perhaps the explanation must be sought in the fact that it's always more difficult, say, to enter the mechanisms of large cinema production. So the simplest thing, considering also the costs, all in all accessible to make a short film, is to demonstrate that you are able to make a film, and how do you do it? By making a short that becomes a business card, the demonstration that you possess an originality, a language, a mastery of the aesthetics of cinema. And with that business card, you manage to get the necessary resources, the trust of a producer, to make a feature film. This is becoming the simplest way to enter the profession.
Director, another event that moved us was when Angelina Jolie got emotional, and can you tell us about that moment for you?
Well, naturally, yes. I mean, it's not rare that directors or more easily actors get emotional at the end of a film screening, given the audience's reception, the warmth with which they are welcomed, the extraordinary affection that the audience demonstrates towards the actor. And every now and then, every year, it happens that an actor or actress, or more than one, become emotional with tears. Well, the case of Angelina Jolie obviously went around the world because few expected that she could interpret such a difficult role, to give existence to a mythical character, an icon of contemporaneity like Maria Callas, to do it with an adherence, with an intensity and with an emotion truly extraordinary. So a great interpretation, and for her herself, she was surprised by the warmth with which the film was received, and perhaps there all the tension she had accumulated in the previous months was released, without knowing how the film would be received. And another aspect that I want to highlight is that the Toronto Film Festival I saw much weaker this year compared to the Venice Film Festival. I saw a difference not only in content but also in spectacle, in communication, which remained far behind this edition, according to me. Well, we can say with a certain legitimate pride that some of the most important films in Venice were not in Toronto's program. For example, Joker 2 wasn't there, the film that won the Golden Lion wasn't in Toronto, etc. Toronto has lost some ground. Yes, for many years it was the strongest competitor to Venice, because the Americans especially, a decade ago, found it cheaper to go to Toronto, took fewer risks because there were fewer critics, much less international press judging the value of a film. Then what happened is that Venice instead became a launching pad for films for the Oscars, and so the Americans started returning to Venice. And then there was COVID. Toronto suffered a lot because for 2 years the friends of Toronto couldn't manage to hold their festival, they had to surrender to the danger of COVID spreading. And the third year, that is 2023, they were forced to do a reduced edition in terms of number of films, number of screenings, number of guests, etc. So three years in a row gave a really hard blow to the effectiveness of a festival that 10 years ago instead seemed to have enormous appeal especially to producers, distributors, etc. We need to wait and see if Toronto will manage to climb back and recover the lost ground in these years, but certainly, for the moment, Venice has won this competition between great international festivals.
I'll ask a question that might seem trivial, but in my opinion it's not: will American cinema always remain, say, number one? There's Chinese cinema, Asian cinema is growing more and more, so there's a competition between the two continents. I wanted to ask you for your point of view.
