US actress Sigourney Weaver honoured as Venice Film Festival opens
The Venice International Film Festival honoured US actress Sigourney Weaver with a prestigious Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement as the Italian festival opened its 81st edition on Wednesday evening.
A total of 21 international films are vying for the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion.
In her acceptance speech, Weaver thanked her family and her fellow actors.
"My Leone will sit next to me on the aeroplane," said the 74-year-old actress, known for her role in the "Alien" films, the first of which premiered in 1979.
Weaver was referring to the Italian title of the "Leone d'Oro" award. "He will sit next to me in the gondola, and my husband will have to get used to him lying in bed with us," she added.
French actress Camille Cottin held the laudatory speech for her US colleague.
She praised the veteran thespian for the pioneering work Weaver has done for women in the public sphere - with multi-layered female roles that stay clear of clichés.
"Thank you for creating a new dimension in cinema by portraying women in such a revolutionary way," Cottin said at Wednesday night's gala, which was hosted by Italian actress Sveva Alviti.
Afterwards, director James Cameron, who worked with Weaver on the film "Avatar," gave a second laudatory speech via video message and said: "If you ask me, the Oscar is long overdue for her."
After last year's festival was mainly attended by Italian and European actors due to the Hollywood strike, many international stars were back in Venice this year to walk the red carpet again.
Actress Cate Blanchett and musician Patti Smith posed together for the photographers.
Director Tim Burton walked the red carpet hand in hand with his partner, actress Monica Bellucci. His film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" was the first to be screened after the opening ceremony.
Bellucci is joined in the film's cast by stars including Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Willem Dafoe and Jenna Ortega.
The contenders for the Golden Lion range from star-studded films to promising arthouse cinema.
Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix star in Todd Phillips' "Joker" sequel, while Nicole Kidman is a businesswoman who begins an affair with a young intern in Halina Reijn's "Babygirl."
Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar shows his first English-language film "The Room Next Door," which tells the story of two friends portrayed by Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.
Angelina Jolie plays renowned opera singer Maria Callas in the biopic "Maria" by Pablo Larraín, while her estranged husband Brad Pitt's action film - "Wolfs" by Jon Watts - is shown out of competition.
The decision on the Golden Lion lies with a nine-member jury led by French actress Isabelle Huppert. It will be awarded on the festival's closing night on September 7.
