Director of Venice-Bound ‘Ordinary Failures’ on Creating its Dark, Eerie World, Trailer Launches (EXCLUSIVE)

Liza Foreman Making its world premiere in the main competition at the San Sebastián Festival on Sept. 19, “Il Boemo,” the story of a forgotten Czech composer who rose to fame in the second half of the 18th century, has taken the award-winning filmmaker Petr Václav more than a decade to complete.  Known as Il Boemo, Josef Mysliveček’s fame was short-lived.  He died before reaching the age of 44, after a whirlwind career composing music for Italian courts and theaters.  But Václav, together with his DPs, Diego Romero and Suarez Llanos, costume designer Andrea Cavalletto, and a slew of top operatic singers, has created an action-packed period piece, celebrating his tumultuous life, operatic drama, and the aesthetic beauty of the era. 

Liza Foreman He died alone and abandoned, and today few people know his name, but in the second half of the 18th century Josef Mysliveček (1737-1781), the son of a Czech miller, broke family ties, and left Prague for Venice to become one of the go-to composers of opera of his time. The award-winning Czech director Petr Václav (“The Way Out”) has created a sumptuous period piece, rich in costume and the sounds of live music recorded for the film by the Czech ensemble Collegium 1704. Not to mention performances by real-life opera stars. Soloists from the music world include French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, Hungarian soprano Emöke Baráth, Italian soprano Raffaella Milanesi, Slovak soprano Simona Šaturová, and opera singers Juan Sancho, Krystian Adam, and Sophie Harmsen.

UPDATED w/TIFF Statement: Sparta, the German-Romanian drama from Austrian director Ulrich Seidl that is in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Toronto Film Festival, has been pulled from the festival lineup.

Manori Ravindran International Editor The Toronto International Film Festival has withdrawn the film “Sparta” following allegations of on-set impropriety against director Ulrich Seidl. “Sparta” was due to have its world premiere in Toronto on Friday afternoon. However, there has been speculation as to whether the film would remain in the festival after allegations against Seidl and the production were published last week in German news magazine Der Spiegel. The investigation alleges that Seidl did not communicate the film’s theme of paedophilia to its young actors, who were between the ages of 9 and 16. It’s also alleged that the actors were confronted with alcoholism, nudity and violence during the production without adequate preparation or support.

Jessica Chastain will soon be seen in “The Good Nurse”, an upcoming Netflix thriller based on a terrifying true story.

The Ukrainian cast and crew of Luxembourg, Luxembourg — premiering in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival — today used their Lido photo call as a powerful call for support of Ukraine’s families.

and her playful eye for elegant, avant-garde designs, there’s a reason she’s become an enduring muse to filmmakers and fashion designers alike. But today in Venice, while attending a photocall to promote her new film The Eternal Daughter, Swinton’s look held a deeper meaning. At the film’s press conference, Tilda Swinton both wore a blue Loewe button-up and dyed her signature crop bright yellow.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has closed distribution deals for Italy and Greece following the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The Israeli-Ukrainian co-production plays in Venice’s Horizons Extra section, and will have its North American premiere on Sept. 14 at Toronto Film Festival in the Contemporary World Cinema section. Rome-based P.F.A Films Srl will distribute the film in Italy, with a theatrical release planned for April 2023. The company’s recent titles include “Fabian – Going to the Dogs” by Dominik Graf, “The Audition” by Ina Weisse, and “Border” by Abbasi Ali.

Janey Godley has left her fans in stitches with her latest voiceovers of Boris Johnson and his new successor Liz Truss.

Christopher Vourlias On the eve of the 79th Venice Film Festival, where his powerful Ukraine war documentary “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” will premiere out of competition on Sept. 7, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky was in a frantic race against time. Footage was still being shot in Ukraine into the second week of August, with Afineevsky only completing the film on Aug. 31 — the same day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the A-list celebrities and foreign press at the festival’s opening ceremony, urging the world not to forget the war in Ukraine with the impassioned plea: “Don’t turn your back to us.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Best Friend Forever has unveiled the trailer for “To The North,” Romanian Mihai Mincan’s feature debut which is world premiering in the Horizons section at Venice. Inspired by true events, the edgy thriller follows Joel, a religious Filipino sailor who finds a Romanian stowaway, Dumitru, hidden between some containers during his shift on a transatlantic ship. Joel decides to hide him and subsequently starts feeling tormented by his crew, friends and even God.

Manori Ravindran International Editor In a new statement shared with the Venice Film Festival, imprisoned Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rosoulof have said the “hope of creating again” is a “reason for existence.” In the joint statement, distributed to journalists at a Saturday press conference, the directors said: “We are filmmakers. We are part of Iranian independent cinema. For us, to live is to create. We create works that are not commissioned. Therefore, those in power see us as criminals. Independent cinema reflects its own times. It draws inspiration from society. And cannot be indifferent to it. “The history of Iranian cinema witnesses the constant and active presence of independent directors who have struggled to push back censorship and to ensure the survival of this art. While on this path, some were banned from making films, others were forced into exile or reduced to isolation. And yet, the hope of creating again is a reason for existence. No matter where, when, or under what circumstances, an independent filmmaker is either creating or thinking about creation. We are filmmakers, independent one.”

There’s no shortage of star power on the Lido this year. The 79th Venice Film Festival boasts such boldface names as Timothée Chalamet — along with his fellow the Bones And All castmates and filmmaker Luca Guadagnino — Cate Blanchett, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Adam Driver and dozens more.

Alpha Violet founding co-heads Virginie Devesa and Keiko Funato are in Venice this year with Indonesian filmmaker Makbul Mubarak’s first film Autobiography, which plays in Horizons ahead of trips to TIFF and London BFI  among other festivals.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Hillary Clinton and Universal’s Donna Langley praised U.S. director, producer and social justice activist Ava DuVernay for being “a pathbreaker, a change-maker, a historical filmmaker,” as Clinton put it, during the 13th DVF Awards. The gala was held Thursday on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to honor extraordinary women.  The former U.S. secretary of state noted that DuVernay – who is among this year’s DVF honorees – “became the first African American woman ever nominated for an Academy Award as director [for “Selma”]. “Yes, her visionary works about Black histories and experiences are more relevant today than ever,” Clinton added. But Clinton went on to further praise DuVernay for “opening doors not just for herself, but for so many others.”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has debuted the trailer (below) for the Israeli-Ukrainian drama “Valeria Is Getting Married,” which will have its world premiere in Venice’s Horizons Extra Friday. The film will have its North American premiere at Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 14, where it is part of the Contemporary World Cinema lineup. The film, directed by Israeli female filmmaker Michal Vinik, is shot from the perspective of two Ukrainian sisters, and follows the tense emotional journey that unfolds over the course of one day. Valeria (Dasha Tvoronovich) arrives in Israel to meet the man she is supposed to marry, thanks to a deal made online. She is following in the footsteps of her older sister Christina (Lena Fraifeld), who is happy with her new life in Israel, but Valeria struggles with the decision.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Loco Films has acquired international sales rights to Petr Václav’s buzzed-about film “Il Boemo” which is world premiering in the official selection at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The epic period movie sheds light on the extraordinary life of Josef Myslivecek, one of the most prolific opera composers in 18th century Italy who inspired Mozart and became his friend. Speaking of the film, Václav’ said he “did everything I could in order to understand the daily life of Josef Mislivecek, his work, his social interactions, his feelings and opinions he could have had.”

More than 50 years after she made her Venice debut as the star of Luis Buñuel’s 1967 classic Belle du Jour, Catherine Deneuve is being feted by the festival with its Golden Lion for Career Achievement.

Ed Sheeran was joined at his Poland gig on Saturday night by Ukrainian band Antytila – watch them give a live debut of their collaborative remix of ‘2step’.Earlier this year Antytila reached out to Sheeran asking if they could perform remotely at the ‘Concert For Ukraine’ fundraiser event in Birmingham. Organisers refused because the event is “only able to focus on the humanitarian situation” and the band are currently fighting the Russians in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, but Sheeran did say he was going to be checking out their music.Following that, they released a collaborative remix of Sheeran’s track ‘2step’ in May, with Antytila sharing screenshots of conversations they’d had with Sheeran.“I’m up for whatever man, just please keep safe,” Sheeran wrote to the group.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Venice Film Festival is launching two initiatives to support directors, filmmakers and artists who have been arrested or imprisoned around the world during the past year. In tandem with the International Coalition Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), a panel will be held on Sept. 3 at the Palazzo del Casinò press conference room titled: “Filmmakers Under Attack:Taking Stock, Taking Action.” Panelists will include fest chiefs Alberto Barbera (Venice);  Vanja Kalurdjercic (Rotterdam); Orwa Nyrabia (Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival); Turkish producer Nadir Öperli; European Film Academy president Mike Downey and an unspecified Iranian director.