Useful tips for an edition of the Venice Film Festival that promises to be extraordinary!
Final preparations are underway for the live coverage that Venezia da Vivere will provide for the Film Festival, featuring films, events, red carpets, awards ceremonies, and parties: we will bring you an unforgettable festival experience.
As the days of the International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art are always hectic, here is our guide to the 2022 Film Festival.
Outfits and kit for the Cinema Biennalist
Dark but comfortable clothing, and something special to wear in case of an invitation to a cocktail party.
Spacious bags, cameras, computers, the essential power banks (even more than one), and good old-fashioned notebooks for writing in the darkness of the theater.
Furthermore, study the programs and clear your phone’s memory to capture close encounters with VIPs or Hollywood stars around the Hotel Excelsior or on the Lungomare Marconi, where the festival is based.
During the Film Festival, nothing should be left to chance; thus, the final weeks leading up to it are characterized by actual “to-do” lists. How do I book? Which screenings will the cast attend? Where is this theater located?
The numbers of #Cinema79
From Wednesday, August 31 to Saturday, September 10, 2022, the following will be screened at the Lido: 73 feature films in the official selection (23 in Competition, 19 Out of Competition, 18 in the Orizzonti section, 9 in the Orizzonti Extra section, and 4 in the Biennale College Cinema section), 16 short films, 2 TV series, 19 restored classic feature films, and 9 documentaries on cinema.
To these must be added the 27 titles (including feature films and short films) presented in the 19th edition of Giornate degli Autori and the 10 films and 7 shorts presented as part of the 37th edition of International Film Critics’ Week.
There are 89 Virtual Reality works (in the section renamed this year as Venice Immersive), for a grand total of over 250 works across 10 days of screenings.
On the Festival website www.labiennale.org, you can find the daily program and all information regarding each film, allowing you to choose based on your tastes and interests.
All cinematic genres are represented: drama, comedy, western, thriller, horror, and of course, the great (restored) classics.
Download the PDF of the Complete Program.
The Festival Venues
The two main theaters, where films in Competition in the main sections and the most important Out of Competition events alternate, are the Sala Grande (1,032 seats), located inside the Palazzo del Cinema, and the Sala Darsena (1,500 seats), adjacent to the Palazzo (formerly Pala-Galileo).
The Palazzo del Cinema is the main venue of the Venice International Film Festival and was inaugurated in record time on August 10, 1937, for the fifth edition of the Exhibition. Inside the Palazzo del Cinema, there are also two smaller rooms: the Sala Zorzi (48 seats, usually not used during the Festival) and the Sala Pasinetti (119 seats).
Inside the Palazzo del Casinò, you will find the Sala Perla (450 seats), the Sala Volpi (149 seats), the Sala Casinò (149 seats), and the Sala Perla 2 (270 seats).
In the area in front of the Casinò, other films are scheduled in the Sala Giardino (466 seats), the large red cube located next to the Palazzo del Casinò, equipped with the most advanced technologies: Dolby 7.1 sound, and capabilities for film, digital, and 3D screenings.
The largest structure is the PalaBiennale, with a capacity of 1,760 seats. It is located on Via Sandro Gallo and is within walking distance of the Palazzo del Cinema.
Two new venues—the Sala Corinto at the Skating Rink and the Sala Laguna on Via Pietro Buratti—join the vibrant archipelago that for ten days will teem with cinephiles, journalists, paparazzi, starlets, VIPs, bloggers, influencers, TV crews, and above all, fans, finally freed from the wall that separated them from their idols during the last two editions.
Back in Person: The New Venice VR Expanded
The Island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, opposite the Riva di Corinto, will once again come to life and be the most beloved spot of the festival with Venice Immersive, the section dedicated to Virtual Reality films.
43 projects from 19 countries, 32 works in the Worlds Gallery section, a Special Event – Out of Competition, and a screening of the documentary We Met in Virtual Reality, filmed in VRChat and created by Joe Hunting.
The International Jury is composed of the English May Abdalla (President), David Adler (winner of the 2021 Best VR Story Award for End of Night), and the choreographer, director, dancer, and actress Blanca Li.
Access is exclusively by reservation, and a free shuttle service will connect the Riva di Corinto (Lido) with the island until the conclusion of the final evening events.
The Red Carpet
The Red Carpet in front of the Palazzo del Cinema will be visible to the public again after two years.
The casts of the films screening in the Sala Grande will parade for the public approximately 30-45 minutes before the start of the screening.
And this year, the most anticipated stars are Harry Styles and Timothée Chalamet.
Star Hunting
The Red Carpet is not the only opportunity for fans to see their favorite stars. From the terrace overlooking the Darsena of the Hotel Excelsior, the arrival of many celebrities at the hotel is visible.
Alternatively, many position themselves near the Casinò in the morning, hoping for a chance encounter before or after the press conferences.
But the most magical experience remains the casual encounter with an actor or director at a café table, in a shop, or around the city. We assure you that it can happen!
Parties and Social Events
This year, parties and social gatherings return for the Film Festival, both at the Lido and in Venice.
As every year, on August 30, the famous and highly exclusive Variety cocktail party will take place at the Hotel Danieli to open the festival, with the participation of many celebrities and members of the international jury. This year, on the occasion of the hotel’s bicentenary, the theme of the event will be Cinema Danieli.
On August 31, the inaugural gala of the Festival also returns to the Sala degli Stucchi at the Hotel Excelsior. Guests include the godmother Rocío Muñoz Morales, the President of the international jury Julianne Moore, and the cast of White Noise by Noah Baumbach (in Competition), which includes Adam Driver, Don Cheadle, and Greta Gerwig.
On September 1, it will be the turn of the party for the thirteenth DVF Award by designer Diane von Furstenberg at the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista.
Among the other highly anticipated parties is the one by Vanity Fair with the Red Sea Film Festival, which is organizing the Women’s Stories gala night to celebrate women in the film industry, at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù in Venice.
VV CLUB, the first Vanity Fair Club in collaboration with Maison Valentino, debuts in Venice at the Hotel Bauer: Friday 2, Sunday 4, and Monday 5 September.
The Ballo della Luce (Ball of Light), organized for September 3 by Giorgio Armani at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, will be strictly invitation-only.
Tiziana Rocca is organizing a party at the Hotel Excelsior for the Filming Italy Best Movie Achievement Award on September 4.
The traditional Ciak Party is also highly anticipated.
Tickets and Subscriptions
Admission to the pre-opening film on the evening of August 30 is by invitation only, which can be collected using coupons published in local newspapers in the days preceding the event.
For films in the official selection (Venezia79, Orizzonti, Classics, Out of Competition, Biennale College Cinema) and for Critics’ Week, the online ticket and subscription sales service for the public is already active on the Vivaticket platform as of Wednesday, August 17. It can be accessed via the Biennale website or at biennalecinema.vivaticket.it.
Regarding the Virtual Reality works on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, a special Venice Immersive subscription is available on the Biennale website for interested parties not accredited to the Festival. Viewing of the official selection of Venice Immersive projects is available exclusively by reservation, daily from 10 AM to 10 PM.
Access to all screenings of Venice Nights (Giornate degli Autori) in the Sala Laguna, from September 1 to 9, 2022, is free of charge while seats last, exclusively through direct reservation on the website giornatedegliautori.com. Reservations will be active from late August and will close 4 hours before the screening.
Everyone to the Venice Lido
To reach the Venice Lido by vaporetto, you can take Actv lines 1, 2, 6, 5.1, or 5.2 from Ferrovia/Piazzale Roma/S. Zaccaria to the Lido S. Maria Elisabetta stop, or Actv lines 20 and MC (at specific times) to the Lido Casinò stop.
The central core of the Film Festival is located in the area in front of the Palazzo del Cinema and the Palazzo del Casinò.
It can be reached from Santa Maria Elisabetta in about twenty minutes on foot, or in a few minutes by bus, by taking Line V (Mostra del Cinema) which connects S. Maria Elisabetta to Via Quattro Fontane.
All schedules are available on the Actv website.
When planning your travel, it is advisable to arrive well in advance, as access to the Festival area involves security screening procedures, which can be time-consuming during certain hours.
Once again this year from the Hotel Excelsior
To tell you the story of the Film Festival from our station at the Hotel Excelsior, we will publish the traditional Caffè con Venezia da Vivere on our pages day by day: a presentation of the films and events not to be missed, written with the lightness of a conversation over a good cup of coffee.
We are ready. Are you?
Article by Pietro Gallina of VeneziaCinema.
Photos: BLONDE with Ana De Armas (Credits Netflix); VENEZIA79 Official poster Credits Lorenzo Mattotti for La Biennale di Venezia (ASAC); WHITE NOISE with Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Raffey Cassidy, and Sam Nivola (Credits Netflix); ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED – Official still; BONES AND ALL with Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet (Credits Netflix); LES MIENS (OUR TIES) – Official still (Credits Shanna Besson); LOVE LIFE – Official still (Credits Film Partners & Comme des Cinemas); THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER with Tilda Swinton; TÁR – Official still; DON’T WORRY DARLING with Harry Styles and Florence Pugh (Credits Warner Media); COPENHAGEN COWBOY with Angela Bundalovic (Credits Netflix)
Excelsior photo by Settimo Cannatella, others by Marta Formentello and Rossana Viola for Venezia da Vivere.
