Venice 2006

At the 63rd Venice Mostra, our jury awarded two films. The prize for a film in competition went to the acclaimed The Queen by Stephen Frears, in which Helen Mirren (who received the Best Actress Prize from the main jury) stars as Queen Elizabeth II. The prize for a film in the Orizzonti or Critics' Week sections went to Spike Lee's four hour-long documentary about New Orleans devastated by hurricane Katrina: When the Levees Broke - A Requiem In Four Acts.

The Queen	When the Levees Broke

Venice, the Mostra 2006 : August 30 - September 9.
Details of the FIPRESCI Prizes
The festivals' website

Reports:

Chamber Music, Sculpture and Still Lives. N. T. Binh praises the three stand-out winners of this year's festival and illustrates what each had that was so unique to make them deserve such high accolades despite, perhaps, a surprise film being among them. Wrap up

The Terror: Terrorism and film 2006. The events of five years ago have catapulted the civilian world into a new state of insecurity. Julie Rigg looks at the films in the festival which reflect this new fear and uncertainty and cites other influences which feature in these new works. Report

The Decline of the American Empire. Two American films were shown on the same day by two well-known controversial but liberal directors. Günter H. Jekubzik argues that dramatising an actual event leaves a more distanced impression than documenting a natural disaster that left the U.S. Government a lot to answer for. Report

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a biopic! Or is it? Eva af Geijerstam looks at six films based on real people and events and contemplates that if truth is supposedly stranger than fiction, does a fictionalised account of the truth blur the boundaries too much? Report

David Lynch: Mysteriously Floating across Dark Channels. On the occasion of his Golden Lion for life achievement, Sandra Perovic gives us a concise appraisal of the career of David Lynch, whose unique cinema has given us all things weird and wonderful for the last 40 years. Report

The Queen by Stephen Frears: The Fine Art of Reigning. Kata Anna Váró provides an alternative take on one of the prize winners of the festival and discusses how a daring director and a great script saved this controversial film from sailing too close to the bone by showing a surprising compassion for its main subjects. Review

The Queen: A Masterpiece. It is quite a brave move to attempt a biopic on someone so known who is still alive, but Stephen Frears has always been a director who likes to court controversy in his films. Ramiro Cristóbal explains why both the critics and audiences were unanimous in their appreciation. Review

World Trade Centre… or not really? Jerzy Plazewski argues that dramatising a snapshot of one of the events inside the World Trade Centre immediately after the attacks is a brave thing to do, considering it is recent history. However, he also argues that the film by its very title is pandering more towards Western audiences. Review

Sense of loss regained in Darroussin's first-directed film Le Pressentiment. When a well-known actor turns director, a film doesn't necessarily capture the imagination. C.S. Roy discovers, however, that long-time Robert Guediguian favourite Jean-Pierre Darroussin has directed a mediative and engaging solution to mid-life crisis. Review

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