In addition to celebrating South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, Variety will present the International Achievement in Film Award to Alberto Barbera and, for the first time in the history of the award, to La Biennale di Venezia.
After the forced stop of last year due to the difficult pandemic situation, the exclusive pre-opening evening of the festival organized by Variety magazine for celebrate the 78th Venice International Film Festival. This year’s theme Stairway to Paradise. The now iconic appointment, which inaugurates the ten-day film festival of the oldest festival in the world, will take place in the breathtaking setting of the Danieli Restaurant, with the most evocative panoramic view of the Venice Lagoon. During the invitation-only evening, which will be accessed strictly with a green pass, Alberto Fol, Executive Chef of Terrazza Danieli, will pay tribute to the South Korean director Bong Joon Ho: president of the jury, director and Oscar-winning screenwriter, defined as one of the most originals of contemporary cinema, author of the film Parasite, Palme d’Or in Cannes in 2019 and Oscar in 2020 as best film. The film, like other works by the South Korean director, photographs a cross-section of the class struggle, enriched by non-secondary details such as the food and the dishes prepared by the protagonists.
The dishes that appear in the film will inspire the gourmet proposals elaborated by chef Fol: the jiapaguriram-dom (crasis between ramen and udon, where two types of instant noodles are combined, the convenience store food par excellence, with a fine beef sirloin), the Parasite Pizza, steamed pizza with oriental vegetables and burrata, the Tofu and Peach and Chopinamu berries, inspired by a famous passage in the film where peaches are used as a trick that represents the keystone of the story. Lorenzo Ricci of the Danieli Hotel will accompany the chef’s culinary creations with an interesting idea of mixology. To accompany the dishes the “Core Evolution”, A drink composed of simple starting ingredients, such as Gin and mint syrup, which then lead through a modification (shaking) to a new product, with the final addition of champagne to celebrate the social class coveted by the protagonists. A fresh, sweet and pleasant drink, with the predominant flavors of Korean mint and champagne bubbles: the garnish is a clear reference to Korean culture, both proletarian and aristocratic.
This year and next, from October 2021 to October 2022, Hotel Danieli celebrates its 200th anniversary. In fact, in 1822, Giuseppe Dal Niel rented part of Palazzo Dandolo, described as “the noblest palace in Venice” for its proud Gothic architecture and for the privileged position overlooking the lagoon, and converted it into a hotel giving it its nickname ” Danieli “. The hotel has always had a special link with the world of entertainment, as the place chosen for opera, theater and cinema: the fifteenth-century rooms have inspired unforgettable films, including 007 – From Russia with love (1963) with Sean Connery, Moonraker – Operation Space (1979) with Roger Moore, Casino Royale (2006) with Daniel Craig e The Tourist (2010) with Angelina Jolie, but also the biopic Effie Gray (2014) with Dakota Fanning. The evening Stairway to Paradise is made possible also thanks to the sponsors of the event: Gray Goose® Vodka, Kettmeir, Masi and Sparkling Partner Bisol.
In addition to celebrating South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, Variety will present the International Achievement in Film Award to Alberto Barbera and, for the first time in the history of the award, to La Biennale di Venezia. Alberto Barbera has been director of the Venice Film Festival since 2012, and was confirmed until 2024. He also held the same position from 1998 to 2002. Thanks to his vision of cinema, he contributed to making the Festival one of the most important showcases of international cinema, meeting the tastes of the public and critics. In fact, in recent years there have been many films selected at the Festival that have become great Oscars successes, such as Nomadland but also Birdman, The Spotlight Case, Joker, The Shape of Water.
Stevan Gaydos of Variety, in motivating the award to Alberto Barbera, said: “The Venice Film Festival has long represented excellence in international cinema. The last decade, under the leadership of director Barbera, has continued this tradition but added a new dimension to Hollywood glamor, the relevance of the film awards season and a creative vitality that make this one of the most exciting periods in the glorious history of festival. We have never honored a festival director before, but it seems right that Alberto Barbera and La Biennale di Venezia are the first person and the first organization to receive this recognition ”. Now in its 116th year, Variety is the most influential voice in the entertainment industry. Through news, reviews, reviews and awards season specials, in-depth analysis of industry dynamics, Variety is the benchmark for the global entertainment business.
Appreciated by a highly engaged audience of insiders, wannabes and entertainment enthusiasts, Variety’s cross-platform content coverage expands to digital, mobile, social, print, podcast, branded content, events and meetings. At the Lido of Venice, after last year’s forced low profile edition, due to pandemic restrictions, but which worked great, the great Hollywood stars are back: Antonio Banderas, Willem Dafoe, Matt Damon, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Dakota Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Timothée Chalamet, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Josh Brolin. And with them the films and the great American production companies: da Warner Bros a Universal, da Fox, Disney a Netflix.