What to see in Venice

The Transformers saga, from its origin as an animated series, doesn’t stop representing one of the most constant battles between universal good and evil. But, are we sure? No, not exactly. And it’s because Transformers, like many other mass culture products, just persists in violence and sells to the world the hierarchy of certain nations above others, the abuse of power as well as fascism. The plot of Transformers is pretty simple: according to the first version of the cartoons, a group of alien robots arrives to Earth in the middle of a great battle, between the ‘good’, the ‘Autobots’, and the ‘bad’, the ‘Decepticons’. After a crash landing, both sides arrive on Earth to carry on their war in the middle of humanity, which is completely astonished in front of the presence of such aliens.

The problem here is understanding Transformers further than entertainment. In the recent film ‘Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon’, we’re once again in front of an ‘American’ country that has knowledge above the rest, and that discovers in 1969 that, in fact, there’s alien life, and that the space race of that time between the USSR and the USA wasn’t but a reason to reach the discovery of an abandoned ship on the Dark Side of the Moon. Therefore, once again, all search of knowledge is just a cover up for the urgency of acquiring much more political power, which is actually power but hidden, the power of knowledge that’s not shared, that’s not publicised “due to international security measures”.

The war of Transformers isn’t but two big masses of armed, mechanical and futuristic power on a terrain that doesn’t belong to them, which is planet Earth. In this way, the near-apocalyptic devastation that occurs in the cities that are shown in the film, are just the desert or the jungle or the playing field of two great big power dimensions, that confront their power without the slightest interest of their surroundings. In the same way, the Autobots ‘agree’ to protect the human race and ‘liberate’ it from the iron fist of the Decepticons. Again, this has a loophole, and the judge tries to be the true authoritarian, that of justice.

If we could put a face on Megatron or Optimus Prime, the leaders of both sides, the faces of Berlusconi, Bush, Zapatero, Blair, Bin Laden (RIP), Obama, Rasputin, El Duce or whichever other could easily fit these transformable robotic bodies. Of course one must remember that fascism is everywhere and that there isn’t a good or bad side behind the screen, that the search and desire of power hasn’t stopped corrupting the interest of any subject, that the mega world enterprises are those who have control and that this is a corporate reality where ‘beings from other worlds’ don’t stop fighting to solve their own mafias, leaving the citizens to one side. Watch Transformers carefully and think. For more information visit: http://www.transformersmovie.com

Alexa Ray

Pay more attention when you watch a blockbuster movie from Hollywood, there’s always a message between the lines. This summer, get apartments in Venice and watch Transformers.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Between the 31st of August and 10th of September, Venice will play host to scores of cinema lovers, directors, screenwriters, actors and actresses, with the 68th edition of the International Venice Film Festival, which this opens with the screening of The Idles of March written and directed by George Clooney.

Mark Mueller, the director of the festival, has confirmed that North American director Darren Aronofsky will be the president of the official selection jury for this year’s edition. Last year, Aronofsky led the Gold Lion competition with his movie Black Swan starring Natalie Portman.

The history of the festival dates back to 1932, when it was founded as a showcase for cinema art under the direction of Luciano de Feo the secretary general of the International Institute of Educational Cinema. At that time, the festival took place on the terrace of the Excelsior Hotel, on the Lido island, and screened high-art pieces of cinema such as It Happened One Night by Frank Capra, The Champion by King Vidor, Grand Hotel by Edmund Goulding, Freedom Alive by Rene Clair, Zemlja by Alexander Dovzenko, and Gli uomini che mascalzoni by Mario Camerini amongst many other creations.

The success which launched the festival came about with the construction of the Venice Cinema Palazzo, located on the Lido island. The opening of the festival took place on the Palazzo, with films presented in its two cinemas, the Great Hall, with a capacity of over 1000 people, and the smaller-scale Volpi Hall. Alongside this venue is the Casino Palazzo, the Palabiennale, and Palagalileo for the screening of films included in the festival.

Everyone participating is after the main draw of the festival, the Gold Lion, awarded by the jury to the best film of the festival. There is also the Silver Lion for the best director, the Volpi Cup for the best actress or actor, with the Gold Lion for an entire career, the Osella for best screenplay.

The competition for the Gold Lion started in 1936, and since then there have been many stories and drama surrounding the festival, such as the screening of Nazi propaganda film Olympia by Leni Riefenshtal during the Second World War; or the much criticised 1960 edition when Viconti lost the Gold Lion, for the film Rocco y sus hermanos, to the unknown French filmmaker André Cayatte, whose film nobody can remember the name of.

During the 1960s, a new wave of vanguard cinema arrived which made demands for social change, and the integration of art and cinema. In 1968, students halted the festival, for which a statue was finally erected in 1973.

For more information http://www.labiennale.org/it/Home.html

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Nancy Guzman

The International Venice Film Festival is and will be a huge event for directors and actors – but for those cinephiles amongst you, why not rent apartments in Venice and go along to some of the many projections taking place throughout the festival.

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Translated by: Poppy
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“Make art not war” says a poster with blue capital letters that hangs from a wall in my house. It is to be sent to Bice Curiger, the curator of the Venice Biennial 2011, who asks: “If art were a country, what would its constitution state?” This year the 83 invited artists to the International Exhibition of Art in Venice exhibit under the title ILLUMinations and demonstrate why this event is “one of the most important forums for knowledge and illumination of the new developments in international art”, says Curiger. From June the 4^th until November the 27^th, art, architecture, cinema, dance, music and theater will inundate the city of canals.

Every two years, the cats that come to the public park Giardini in Venice have to share their territory. Besides the Arsenal and other places in the city, this space is transformed into an exhibition stage to install new national pavilions, in addition to the 29 permanent ones. The 54^th edition welcomes new countries like Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Haiti and Andorra. Other countries will participate again after many years of absence, such as India, Cuba, South Africa, Costa Rica, Iraq or Zimbabwe. If art were a country, its constitution would value the gender equality: this year 32 women will participate. And that country called Art would have as a motto “Youth is future”: 32 young artists, born after the year 1975, will participate in this edition as well. The program also highlights the organization of 37 events. Nothing will be missing to be illuminated.

Imitating Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the last crusade”, the lovers of the Seventh Art usually take pictures of themselves in front of the church that appears in the movie, located in Campo San Barnaba. It is even better to enjoy the 68^th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, which takes place from August the 31^st to September the 10^th in Lido, an island located 10 minutes from the city by vaporetto. As Cannes’, Berlin’s or San Sebastian’s, the Venice Film Festival is one of the most prestigious in the world. Every year it awards the best film production with the Golden Lion, won in 2010 by Sofia Coppola for her drama “Somewhere”.

The Venice Biennial is also about dance. The Arsenale della Danza or International Contemporary Dance Festival (from May the 11^th to June the 25^th) is the perfect opportunity to discover the most innovative works of current choreographers. The artistic menu is complete: you will be able to choose between the International Architecture Exhibition, the Contemporary Music Festival and the Theater Festival program organized by the Catalan artist Alex Rigola. Since 1895 the gondolas, St Mark’s Square or the charming narrow streets of Venice have remained in the background during several months. Instead, the workshops, performances, pavilions, bookshops and awards have made the city a destiny where innovation prevails.

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All in all, this is an ideal event to make a tour for the Venice landmarks and discover every facet of the international artistic production. Rent apartments in Venice and enjoy a unique stay!

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Translated by: Hans
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Apart from Film Festival in Cannes, the International Film Festival in Venice (Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica) is one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals. Not only that but it is the world’s oldest film festival. It was founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 and it takes place every year in late August/early September on the Island of Lido. The 67th edition of the festival will take place from the 1st until the 11th of September this year.

Also important to mention is that its part of the Venice Biennale, a major exhibition and festival for contemporary art The main awards given out are the Golden Lion (Leone d’Oro) for the best film and the Volpi Cup (Coppa Volpi) for the best actor and actress. This year American director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds) will chair the International Jury for the main competition.

When we think about the film industry, many think “Hollywood” and images of blockbuster hits, the Walk of Fame, the Oscars, mansions of famous movie stars in the Hollywood Hills come to mind. Los Angeles may be where many of today’s major movie companies have their studios and film making has its origin in Venice Beach, California. But the industry is so much more than this! Some of the amazing films which have been awarded prizes at the Venice International Filmfestival include The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky, Monsoon Wedding by Mira Nair or Hana-bi by Takeshi Kitano: unlike the Oscars, this festival looks to award quality films from around the world, not just blockbusters.

The historic Palazzo del Cinema is the main facility and screening theatre of the Venice Film Festival. To catch a glimpse of the action hop onto a vaporetto to Lido and for a comfortable stay rent Apartments in Venice.

http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema