The 65th International Venice Film Festival is underway in the famous northeast Italian city, with plenty of stars and celebrities on hand to celebrate. The festival, which is the oldest in the world, opened on August 27th and will close on September 6th. The festival takes place on the island of Lido, with screenings at the historic Palazzo del Cinema. It is part of the Venice Biennale, a major exhibition and festival for contemporary art in the city.
Brad Pitt made an appearance along with co-stars George Clooney and Tilda Swinton for their new movie Burn After Reading. This was the opening film of the festival and was directed by the Coen brothers. Mr. Pitt brought two of the most recent additions to his family with him, Maddox and Pax, whom he adopted with partner Angelina Jolie.
Natalie Portman arrived in town to preview her first movie as a director, Eve. The short film stars Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazarra and is about love and romance among an older generation. Charlize Theron was also at the film festival to preview her latest movie, The Burning Plain. Directed by Guillermo Arriaga, it is up for the main award of the film festival, The Golden Lion.
Other celebrities on hand during the festival include Evelyn Johnston-Arthur, Chulpan Khamatova, Alessandra Negrina, Anne Hathaway, Jonathan Demme, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Isabella Ragonese and Amira Casar, among many others.
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