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VENISE 2007 Opening

"Black and white" gala for Keira Knightley

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The big steel ball Federico Fellini used in Orchestra Rehearsal 1979 to crack, symbolically, the wall of a two-century-old chapel is to be found in the new set conceived by Oscar-winning production designer Dante Ferretti. The 64th Venice Film Festival starts today with this tribute to Fellini, "an artist who always looked beyond and always thought big", explains Ferretti, adding that "it is also the expression of my best wishes for the Venice Film Festival, which has been taking more and more innovative and modern directions".

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It now belongs to the films in selection to confirm this wish, for they represent "a cinema which makes its way between industry and culture, taking into account market-related necessities but also exploring the margins to express freely its individuality", says head of festival Marco Müller, who leaves his position soon after four years. Müller is proud of his choices for this year : Abdellatif Kechiche, who had already touched the public with L'esquive [+see also:
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film profile
]
, Wes Anderson, Ken Loach, the great masters Eric Rohmer, Brian De Palma, and Nikita Mikhalkov, and the three young Italian filmmakers Vincenzo Marra, Andrea Porporati, and Paolo Franchi.

In the meantime, the first guests of the festival have arrived on the Lido for a prestigious red carpet opening. Tonight, Keira Knightley will present Atonement [+see also:
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film profile
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, an adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel by Pride and Prejudice [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
director Joe Wright. The actress will be accompanied by James McAvoy, Vanessa Redgrave, young Saoirse Ronan and Wright.

The opening ceremony, hosted by Ambra Angiolini, will be held in the presence of the Italian Minister of Culture, Francesco Rutelli, and will be followed by a gala on the beach behind the Westin Excelsior Hotel. The theme is the 1940s and the dress code is strictly "black and white", in honor of the opening movie. Amongst the guests, there will be members of the different international juries – such as Zhang Yimou, Catherine Breillat, Jane Campion, Emanuele Crialese, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Ferzan Ozpetek, Paul Verhoeven, and Rupert Everett – as well as Dante Ferretti, Mario Monicelli, Anna Fendi, Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux, the Prince of Jordan Al Hussein Ali Bin, and his wife Reem.

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(Translated from Italian)

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