Venice, 13 September 2021- Happy Birthday, Buon Compleanno Venezia! A shower of “starry” wishes from the world-famous celebrities fall over Venice. While swarming the red carpet in Lido, on their way between flashes, interviews and selfies, many actors and directors took part in the celebrations for the 1600th year of the city, sending a wish, a kiss, or a message to the city, as a token of friendship. Among them the great Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar, producer of many popular movies, who this year attended the festival with “Madres Paralelas”, bringing on stage one of its most iconic actresses: Penelope Cruz. “Dear Venice, Happy birthday”- he said- “you’re all grown and old enough. Every time I come here; I feel happy. Best wishes”.
The American actor Peter Sarsgaard- who this year walked the runway introducing the film “The lost daughter”, with his wife and director of the movie, Maggy Gyllenhaal, - said jokingly hello to Venice with a “Happy birthday Venice, you’re quite quite old”.
So did the beautiful actress Jessica Chastain and the Guatemalan actor Oscar Isaac, at the festival to present the new tv series “Scenes from a Marriage”, based on the 1973 masterpiece by Ingmar Bergman. “Tanti auguri Venezia, buon compleanno”, she said smiling, while her workmate and friend blew a birthday kiss to the city.
Among the many special wishes, those of Antonio Banderas and Anya Taylor, The Queen’s Gambit, couldn’t miss. The young actress came to Venice to present “Last Night in Soho”, together with the film director Edgar Wright, who promised Venice some birthday bumps! The great Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore also joined the festivities, wishing Venice “more centuries of life”. Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo brothers, directors and scriptwriters of the movie “America Latina”, also celebrated Venice birthday, not to mention the wishes of the actors Fabrizio Ferracane, Dori Ghezzi (in Venice for the premiere of “De Andrè, storia di un impiegato), Iaia Forte and Maria Nazionale with their movie “Qui rido io”, by Mario Martone. The actor Claudio Santamaria also congratulated the city saying, “Best wishes Venice, 1600 years of divinely brought charm”.