Venice Film Festival opening: Red carpet looks and highlights
Adam Driver, Catherine Deneuve and Juliane Moore dazzled on the red carpet. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was part of the opening, calling for support for Ukraine.
Strong message from Ukraine's president
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sent a recorded video message for the opening festival ceremony, in which he called on the audience "not to remain neutral to the war in Ukraine," adding that unlike a film, his compatriots are experiencing horrors that are "lasting more than 120 minutes." After his speech, a list of 358 names of children killed since the Russian invasion was displayed.
Adam Driver stars in opening film
Adam Driver remained effortlessly stylish on the red carpet, even though he had previously gained weight for his role of a middle-aged dad in "White Noise." The film, which opened the Venice Film Festival competition on Wednesday, marks the actor's second collaboration with director Noah Baumbach, following their award-winning "Marriage Story."
Noah Baumbach, director of 'White Noise'
"White Noise" is the first of four Netflix productions in the competition — a new benchmark for Venice. Adapted from Don DeLillo's post-modernist novel from 1985, Noah Baumbach's satire also stars Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle, along with Adam Driver in the role of a Hitler Studies professor in a small college town.
Julianne Moore heads the jury
The US actress was all smiles as she walked the red carpet on Wednesday. As president of the jury, she will be watching the 23 films of the competition together with the six other jurors. They will then pick the winners of the Golden and Silver Lions, which will be awarded on September 10.
The jury is ready
Shown here with the festival's heads and Moore (center), the jury is composed of (from 3rd left to right) Italian filmmaker Leonardo Di Costanzo, British-Japanese author Kazuo Ishiguro, French director Audrey Diwan (who won the Golden Lion last year with "Happening"), Spanish director and screenwriter Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Argentine director Mariano Cohn and Iranian actress Leila Hatami.
Hillary Clinton among the red carpet guests
The former US Secretary of State was also among the guests of honor attending Noah Baumbach's "White Noise" premiere. Clinton is increasingly involved in media productions of her own. On September 9, Apple TV+ will release "Gutsy," a new series based on "The Book of Gutsy Women," which she co-wrote with her daughter Chelsea.
'My body, My rules'
Italian journalist and human rights activist Francesca Vecchioni made a statement on the red carpet, posing with the feminist motto "My Body, My Rules" written on her leg. Far-right parties could gain power at Italy's upcoming national elections, leading observers to fear further restrictions on abortion rights in the country.
Catherine Deneuve honored with Golden Lion
She has been an icon of French cinema since the 1960s: Catherine Deneuve was honored with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the opening of the festival. But the accolade didn't prompt the 78-year-old actress to dwell on her past achievements. "One doesn't look backwards," she told AFP news agency, adding that she was too busy shooting various film projects to be nostalgic.