The actor Pierfrancesco Favino, one of the leading artists of the new generation of forty-year-olds who are changing the Italian star-system, and director and producer Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, The Four Feathers), the most prestigious of Indian filmmakers at the international level, will be the Presidents of the Juries respectively for the Orizzonti and the “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film sections of the 69th Venice International Film Festival of the Biennale di Venezia (29 August – 8 September 2012).

 

The decision was made by the Board of Directors of the Biennale chaired by Paolo Baratta, upon recommendation of the Director of the Venice Film Festival Alberto Barbera.

A flexible and versatile actor, beloved by the film and television audience, Pierfrancesco Favino won the David di Donatello award this year for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the anarchist Pinelli in Romanzo di una strage by Marco Tullio Giordana; he is a candidate for the Nastro d’Argento for Romanzo di una strage and for A.C.A.B. by Stefano Sollima. Capable of excelling in both dramatic and comic roles, equally appreciated by the makers of genre films and the great authors, he belongs to that small circle of Italian actors who have won respect at home and abroad, thanks to the roles he played in several Hollywood films(The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, 2008, by Andrew Adamson, Miracle at St. Anna, 2008, by Spike Lee, Angels & Demons, 2009, by Ron Howard). A graduate of the Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica Silvio D’Amico, he earned critical and audience acclaim for L’ultimo bacio (2000) by Gabriele Muccino and El Alamein (2002) by Enzo Monteleone, which won him a nomination as Best Supporting Actor at the David di Donatello 2003. In 2004 he was a member of the cast of Le chiavi di casa by Gianni Amelio, presented in competition at the 61st Venice International Film Festival, which won him a nomination for the Nastro d’Argento as Best Supporting Actor. In Romanzo Criminale (2005) by Michele Placido, where he played the part of Il Libanese, he won the David di Donatello and the Nastro d’Argento as Best Supporting Actor. He has worked with renowned Italian directors – Giuseppe Tornatore (La Sconosciuta, 2006) and Ferzan Ozpetek (Saturno contro, 2007) – and in important American productions. In 2010 he was the star of Baciami ancora by Gabriele Muccino and of Cosa voglio di più by Silvio Soldini. He recently acted in L’industriale (2011) by Giuliano Montaldo, A.C.A.B. (2012) by Stefano Sollima and Posti in piedi in paradise (2012) by Carlo Verdone. In 2013, the film Rush by Ron Howard, in which he plays the part of the famous Formula One racing car driver Clay Regazzoni, is scheduled for release.

 

Shekhar Kapur is not only the Indian filmmaker who enjoys the greatest international prestige – which he earned for the success of the films he made in Bollywood in the early stages of his career, and later for having directed some of the major English and American productions – he is also a refined intellectual humanist interested in social issues, in the transformations brought about by the diffusion of new media and the exploration of the convergence between innovative technologies and original content. He moved to Great Britain in 1970, and began his film career as an actor in the film Jaan Hazir Hai (1975) followed by Toote Khilone (1978) and in several Bollywood productions. Shekhar Kapur made his directing debut in 1983 with the family drama Masoom, and won public acclaim in 1987 with Mr. India.  His consecration by critics came with Bandit Queen (1994), centred on the character of Phoolan Devi, a sort of female Robin Hood, hunted by the Indian police and acclaimed by the people. Following a series of productions in Bollywood, he achieved international recognition with Elizabeth (1998), inspired by the story of Queen Elizabeth I of England and nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Actress for Cate Blanchett’s performance. In 2002 came The Four Feathers, starring Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson, an anti-colonialist interpretation of the homonymous novel by Alfred Edward Woodley Mason. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), chapter two in what will undoubtedly become a trilogy with Cate Blanchett once again in the role of Queen Elizabeth I, won two more nominations for the Oscars and public and critical acclaim. In 2009 Shekhar Kapur filmed an episode in the collective film New York, I Love You, starring Julie Christie, John Hurt and Shia LaBeouf. Also in 2009, he directed Passage, a short film about the reunion of three sisters (Lily Cole, Julia Stiles, Haley Bennett). In 2012 he is working on his new feature Paani.

 

The international Jury of Orizzonti, a competitive section for feature-length and short films representative of the latest trends and components of contemporary cinema, will be composed of 5 to 7 personalities from the world of cinema and culture of different countries and will award – with no ex-aequo awards allowed – the Orizzonti Award for Best Film, the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize and the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.

The international Jury for the “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film, composed of 5 personalities from the world of cinema and culture of different countries, including a producer, will award – with no ex-aequo awards allowed – the Lion of the Future - “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film, plus 100,000 dollars granted by Filmauro di Aurelio De Laurentiis, to be divided equally between the director and the producer, to one of the debut feature-length films in the various competitive sections of the Venice Film Festival (Official selection and Independent parallel sections).