Political passions run high at Venice film festival

VENICE, (Reuters) – The award of top prize to  hard-hitting Israeli war movie “Lebanon” was a fitting end to  this year’s Venice film festival, where political passions ran  high throughout.

The appearance of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and  veteran U.S. director Oliver Stone together on the red carpet  half way through the 11-day cinema showcase said it all.

Film makers from around the world tackled issues from  capitalism to war, Iranian democracy to suicide in a further  sign that independent cinema is determined to take on tough  contemporary themes despite limited box office appeal.

And after a spate of films about U.S. involvement in the war  in Iraq, the focus is likely to switch to the economic crisis,  starting with Michael Moore’s documentary “Capitalism: A Love  Story” which had its world premiere in Venice.
The award of the coveted Golden Lion to Lebanon will be a  broadly popular choice after critics lauded the film and its  harrowing depiction of the horror of battle, with the New York  Times calling it “an astonishing piece of cinema.”

Iranian video artist Shirin Neshat picked up the best  director Silver Lion for “Women Without Men”, about four women  living through Iran’s foreign-backed coup in 1953 but which the  director said had clear parallels to today’s protests.

“In a political verdict, the festival rewarded two pacifist  films coming from two countries that hate each other,” said  Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Lebanon director Samuel Maoz shot almost the entire drama  from inside a tank to communicate the claustrophobia and fear he  experienced as a young Israeli conscript during the 1982 war.