Iran's Representation at the 2015 Venice Film Festival with 'Wednesday, May 19'

The film 'Wednesday, May 19', directed by Vahid Jalilvand, will be the sole representative of Iranian cinema at the 72nd Venice Film Festival. This film, which is considered the director's first work and was also screened at the Fajr Festival last year, will be shown in the Horizons section of the Venice Festival. Alberto Barbera, the president of the Venice Film Festival, announced the list of films in various sections of this cinematic event during a meeting held in Rome on Wednesday, July 29. In the competition section of this festival, 20 feature films will compete for the Golden Lion, including 'Remember' by Atom Egoyan, 'The Danish Girl' directed by Tom Hooper, and 'Anomalisa' by Charlie Kaufman. In the non-competitive section of the festival, 15 films will be screened, among which the short film 'Hearing' directed by Martin Scorsese stands out, featuring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Scorsese himself playing their own roles. Additionally, the film 'Everest' directed by Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur is another film in this section of Venice 2015, which will also open the oldest film festival in the world. 'Everest' tells the story of two climbing teams caught in a severe storm and avalanche while competing to reach the summit of Everest. This film is made in 3D and marks the second time a 3D film will open the Venice Festival, following 'Gravity'. Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Robin Wright, and Emily Watson are the cast of 'Everest'. Last year, at the 71st Venice Film Festival, Iranians had a significant presence. 'Tales' by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami was screened in the competition section and won the Best Screenplay award. Films like 'President' by Mohsen Makhmalbaf and 'Melbourne' by Nima Javidi were also showcased in the side sections of this festival. Bahman Ghobadi was among the filmmakers, alongside directors such as Emir Kusturica, Guillermo Arriaga, Mira Nair, and Amos Gitai, in creating an 'episodic' film titled 'Words with God'. The poster for this edition of the Venice Festival features images of German actress Nastassja Kinski and French actor Jean-Pierre Léaud. Nastassja Kinski, the daughter of famous German actor Klaus Kinski, is known for her roles in 'Paris, Texas' by Wim Wenders and 'Tess' by Roman Polanski. The background of this festival's poster also includes an image of Jean-Pierre Léaud in the final scene of 'The 400 Blows' by French director François Truffaut. The 72nd Venice Film Festival, recognized as the oldest film festival in the world, will take place from September 2 (11 Shahrivar) to September 12 (21 Shahrivar).