The Venice Film Festival kicked off to a star-studded start on Thursday, with sexy Salma Hayek presenting her highly anticipated dramatisation of the life of artist Frida Kahlo, Frida.
The Mexican actress was stunning in a blue gown and silver cross necklace as she arrived at the Venice Lido for the screening of the July Traymor-directed film, which co-stars Antonio Banderas and Salma’s boyfriend, Edward Norton. The movie is the opening feature in an extravaganza that showcases the best in international cinema as well as some of the world’s most glamorous stars.
Actors Tom Hanks and Julianne Moore are expected to attend later in the week, while the event’s opening day saw the legendary Sophia Loren – whose Between Strangers, directed by her son Eduardo Ponti, will be screened during the festival – make her first trip to the event in two decades.
Gwyneth Paltrow, who accompanied Valentino on his yacht sailing around the Adriatic earlier this week, is expected to join the Italian designer in Venice for the event. On Saturday Valentino hosted a dinner in honour of Tom Hanks, whose latest film Road To Perdition, directed by Kate Winslet’s beau Sam Mendes, is one of 21 international films up for the prestigious Golden Lion award. Two other works by UK directors are up for the gong: Stephen Frears’s Dirty Pretty Things, and Peter Mullan’s The Magdalene Sisters.
Seventeen movies are shortlisted for the new San Marco award, including director Stephen Soderbergh’s Full Frontal, the low-budget unofficial sequel to his 1989 work, Sex, Lies And Videotape starring Julia Roberts.
This year’s jury is headed by Chinese actress Gong Li, who won the Best Actress award in 1992 for The Story Of Qiu Ju. The festival, which features a total of 143 films, runs until September 8.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
