‘Molecole’ by Andrew Segre will be the festival’s pre-opening film and ‘Lacci’ by Daniele Luchetti will be its opening film

For the first time in more than a decade, the Venice Film Festival will open with two Italian films.

The festival has announced that the pre-opening film for its 77th year will be Molecole, a documentary by Italian director Andrew Segre. The film, which was made in Venice during the coronavirus lockdown, will be screened on Tuesday, September 1.

The film brings to light the Venetian director’s relationship with his father – a scientist, chemist and physicist – who passed away ten years ago. As Segre went into quarantine, the isolation of the city merged with his own isolation. The film is expected to release on Thursday, September 3.

“To make a film, you have to conceive it, write it, organise it and film it. None of this happened for Molecole. I didn’t even realise I was making it,” the director said in a statement.

The festival’s opening film will be Lacci (The Ties) by Rome-born director Daniele Luchetti, on Wednesday, September 2, the first time an Italian film has opened the festival in 11 years.

Based on the 2017 best-selling novel by Domenico Starnone, the film is set in Naples and Rome in the 1980s and follows the story of Aldo and Vanda, whose marriage is in jeopardy when Aldo falls in love with young Lidia. However, 30 years later, Aldo and Vanda are still married and a mystery about their feelings unfolds.

Speaking ahead of the festival, Luchetti stressed how important the event is for the industry. “If anyone thought it served no purpose, they now know it is important to everyone,” he said.

Lacci stars Alba Rohrwacher, Silvio Orlando and Laura Morante.

The 77th Venice International Film Festival will run from Wednesday, September 2 to Saturday, September 12

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