Natalie Portman's directorial debut to open Venice short film program
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | 12:48 PM ET
CBC News
Natalie Portman, shown at the 61st Cannes Film Festival this May, has directed a 17-minute short to debut in Venice. (François Mori/Associated Press) A 17-minute film directed by Natalie Portman will open the short film section of the Venice Film Festival beginning Aug. 27.
It is the directorial debut for the actress, who starred in Closer, The Other Boleyn Girl and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
Venice organizers described her film, Eve, as a "civilized comedy." Portman is expected to attend the opening.
The film stars veteran actors Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara, and will screen out of competition.
The closing film of the Corto Cortissimo short film section will be Jarred, a 12-minute production from American director Martin Gaiss, also screening out of competition.
The festival, the oldest film fest in the world, has chosen 18 films to screen in competition for its short film section.
A jury headed by U.S. director, producer and screenwriter Amos Poe will judge the films.
The first film from Vietnam ever to screen at the Venice festival — Khi toi 20 (When I Am 20), a melancholy tale of young love by Phan Dang Di — is scheduled as part of the short film competition.
There is one film from China — Wode (Mine) by director Hui Liu — and one from Mexico — Tierra y Pan by Carlos Armella — but the bulk of the films are from Europe or the U.S.
Among the contenders are:
- The Butcher's Shop, a rereading of a famous canvas by the 14th century painter Annibale Carracci, by the veteran U.S. director Philip Haas.
- Corpus/Corpus by Christophe Loizillon of France, who directed Les Visages and My Camera and Me.
- Vacsora (The Dinner) by Hungarian Karchi Perlmann, a comedy set against the chaos of Budapest in October 2006.
- Ich Traume Nicht auf Deutsch (I Don't Dream in German) by Bosnian Ivana Lalovic, inspired by the debris left behind after the siege of Sarajevo.
There is also a new non-competitive program devoted to Italian films, including documentaries by Giuseppe Morandi and Gianfranco Azzali.
The Venice Film Festival runs Aug. 27 to Sept. 6.
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