Venice, 8/27.

The 65th Venice International Film Festival opens tonight with Joel and Ethan Coen's Burn After Reading. After that, as all the festival previews have noted, Hollywood's presence dries right up. Most blame - or credit, depending on their point of view - last year's writers' strike.

Updated.

"It can be argued that the dearth of studio pictures is a good thing," writes Stephanie Bunbury in the Age. Even so: "In recent years there has been a tectonic shift from Venice to the Toronto Film Festival, which starts a week later and overlaps by a few days. This shift has been particularly dramatic this year." Of the many factors at play, she decides, the crucial is "that while Venice is all about prestige, Toronto is about selling."

"With fewer Hollywood releases in competition, this year's lineup of Golden Lion hopefuls provides a perfect opportunity for European cinema to maximise its international exposure," suggests Gwladys Fouche in the Guardian.

Nick Vivarelli previews the festival for Variety, while Roderick Conway Morris has an overview of the Competition in the New York Times.

La Repubblica has a special section devoted to the festival. In Italian.

Earlier: "Venice 08. Lineup."

Updates: More special sections: The Guardian and the Telegraph.

The Guardian's Andrew Pulver considers the "sense of malaise" this year, at least "among the British contingent."

Posted by dwhudson at August 27, 2008 6:36 AM