Hollywood strike weakens Venice Festival's 80th edition

Due to the ongoing strike in Hollywood that has persisted for months, the red carpet at the launch of the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday evening will be devoid of stars and the traditional glitz and glamour. 

An Italian film has been selected to replace an American work for the opening screening in the final hours.

Originally, the rising Hollywood star Zendaya was set to inaugurate the festival with the film "Challengers," directed by Luca Guadagnino. However, the historic protest movement crippling the American film industry has forced a change of plans.

Last month, Hollywood actors joined forces with screenwriters in their social movement, demanding improved wages and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence.

Their powerful union, SAG-AFTRA, has not only prevented all its members, even the most renowned among them, from filming during the strike, but also from participating in film promotions.

The Mostra, the dean of international film festivals and a beloved event within Hollywood circles, often serving as a platform to launch works ahead of awards season, is now the first global artistic gathering to bear the brunt of this strike.

However, Alberto Barbera, the director of the esteemed Italian festival, reassured in an interview with Agence France-Presse that "the impact of the strike will be very limited because we have only lost one film" from the official event program – that film being "Challengers."

He added, "Nonetheless, we will still witness the presence of numerous stars on the red carpet."

The film "Ferrari" by 80-year-old Michael Mann will be one of the standout works in competition. This biographical piece about the founder of the renowned automobile brand, Enzo Ferrari, known for directing "Heat" and "Collateral," received an exemption from the union. This exemption might allow its cast, Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz, to attend the Venice event.

Also contending for the Golden Lion award, which was claimed last year by documentary filmmaker Lina Wertmüller ("Seven Beauties"), are David Fincher and Sofia Coppola.

On Wednesday, "The Commander," co-directed by Pierfrancesco Favino, will become the first film to be screened in the cinema palace along the famous Lido avenue in Venice. 

The work delves into a lesser-known episode during World War II, in which an Italian submarine commander decided to rescue the crew of a sunken Belgian ship off the coast of Madeira, Portugal.




AFP