Patrice Leconte’s A Promise will receive its world premiere at the 70th Venice Film Festival, where actress Carrie Fisher has been appointed to the international jury.

A Promise

A Promise (Une Promesse), the new film by French director and scriptwriter Patrice Leconte, has been added to the Out of Competition section of the Venice Film Festival (Aug 28 - Sep 7), where it will receive its world premiere.

Based on a novel by Stefan Zweig, the film takes place in Germany, in the wake of the First World War, and hinges on a woman who falls in love with the young assistant to her husband, a rich and powerful industrialist. It stars Rebecca Hall, Alan Rickman and Richard Madden.

The festival also announced that Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher will complete the international jury of the Venezia 70 Competition while Mexican director Amat Escalante will complete the international Jury for the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. Escalante won the best director award at this year’s Cannes with his film Heli.

In addition, three new documentaries have been added to the programme. These include:

  • Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater by Gabe Klinger (Venezia Classici – Film History Documentaries)
  • Donne nel mito: Anna Magnani by Marco Spagnoli (Venezia Classici – Film History Documentaries)
  • Dai nostri inviati – La Rai racconta la Mostra del Cinema 1980-1989 by Enrico Salvatori, Giuseppe Giannotti, Davide Savelli (Out of Competition – Special Events).

Venice also announced that the film Venezia 70 - Future Reloaded, composed of 70 short films lasting between 60 and 90 seconds, made by 70 directors from all over the world to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the festival, will be the second opening film at the inaugural ceremony. It will be screened on August 28 in the Sala Grande at 10pm, following Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity.

 

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