Wim Wenders, German filmmaker chairs Venezia 65

Photo-Wenders

This is cheering news for all the Nollywood stars and stakeholders attending this year’s Venice international Film Festival taking place on the Venice Lido, Italy from August 27 to September 6, 2008. They would have the opportunity of meeting and interacting with Wim Wenders, the foremost German director and one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, who has been appointed president of the international jury, for the competition’s 65th edition. Gathered that the board of Directors of the Venice biennale, has accepted the proposal of the Festival Director, Marco Muller, thus ratifying the appointment.

It would be recalled that Wenders appeared
at the Lido in 1972, with his feature film, The Goal Keeper’s Fear of The Penalty Kick, and won the Golden Lion, ten years later with The State of Things, the first in a series of important awards that have led him to the forefront of international cinema.
Meanwhile, Burn After Reading, written and directed by Academy award winning brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, will open this year’s festival. The festival will also celebrate Adriano Celentano’s return with the remix of his 1975 cult movie, Yuppi Du, with a world premiere on September 4, 2008. Also, the great Italian master, Ermanno Olmi will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival, for leaving a profound mark on the inventiveness of modern cinema. Adriano Celentano would specially present the award to him.