Venice Int'l Film Festival starts

Opening night kicks off 70th Venice International Film Festival

The 70th Venice International Film Festival officially started on Wednesday with the opening night held on the stage of the Palazzo del Cinema at Venice Lido in Italy.

The event, the world's oldest, "firmly believes in the gradual growth of the cinema market," the chairman of the Venice Biennale foundation organizer of the Venice Film Festival, Paolo Baratta, said.

"Courage, quality and coherence" are the three ingredients that can make the cinema festival continue to develop and provide a "guide" of best artistic creations in the sector, he added.

Four international juries will assign the official awards. The competition section of Venezia 70, which includes 20 titles that will dispute for the top Golden Lion prize, is chaired by Bernardo Bertolucci, one of the most influential directors in the history of the cinema.

"We know that cinema may not change the world, but it can create a world," the 72-year-old Italian maestro said, visibly moved, at the opening ceremony.

In celebration of its venerable anniversary, the festival also created the special project Venezia 70 - Future Reloaded, a composition of short films created by 70 movie directors from all over the world.

Paul Schrader, Shekhar Kapur, Abbas Kiarostami, Monte Hellman, Walter Salles and Wang Bin are just a few of the well-know directors and young filmmakers of recognized talent who agreed to contribute to the project.

The traditional opening red carpet was especially graced by two major Hollywood stars, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, whose presence filled the Venice lagoon with the flashes of crowds of fans alongside the numerous celebrities.

Clooney and Bullock are the protagonists of the unfortunate shuttle mission in Gravity, the much-awaited thriller in 3D by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, which kicked off the 11-day festival.