Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Hend Sabry Catches Eyes at Venice Film Festival


Thu 29 Aug 2019 | 09:35 AM
Yara Sameh

Tunisian actress, Hend Sabry caught eyes yesterday، Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the 76th Venice International Film Festival, because of her an outstanding look.

 

She looked stunning in a black sequins dress, with simple make-up and hair-style.

Ahead of her red carpet appearance, the actress shared a post on Instagram expressing her excitement to be part of the festival.

 

"I am proud to belong to the international cinema family being part of the panel of juries of the most prestigious festival in the world under the management of Albert Barbera and chaired by Serbian director Emir Kusturica, head of the jury panel," she wrote.

 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B1tpZ_hBBXM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link[/embed]

 

 

Sabry is the first-ever Arab women to sit on the festival’s judging panel.

 

Venice has become over the years the first clearinghouse for some of the year’s most prestigious film fare; last year, “Roma”, “The Favourite”, and “A Star Is Born” premiered there on their way to Oscar wins, along with a host of other lauded films.

 

However, at time of the #metoo movement, the presence of only two female directors Australian Shannon Murphy, who presents “Babyteeth”, and Haifaa al-Mansour, a pioneering Saudi Arabian director who will debut “The Perfect Candidate”, among 21 in the running for the top Golden Lion prize and the inclusion of controversial directors Roman Polanski and Nate Parker have raised questions.

 

The festival, organized by La Biennale di Venezia, will feature a highly-anticipated line-up of competition entries this year, and plenty of star power.

 

This year, film fans are billing Brad Pitt’s “space adventure”, Joaquin Phoenix’s turn as “the Joker”, a star-studded drama based on the Panama Papers expose and a breakup story as highlights of the festival.

 

The opening film was La Vérité (The Truth) by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, who took home the Golden Palm at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for his film Shoplifters.

 

La Vérité is the first film shot outside his home country, which was shot in Paris in 2018, and co-stars Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, and Ethan Hawke.

 

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s films are praised for using simple means to tell intense stories about ordinary people in particularly challenging situations.

 

Moreover, Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar and the British actress Julie Andrews will be awarded the Honorary Lion for their life’s work.

 

The festival remains one of the oldest film festivals in the world. This year's event will last until September 7.