The 70th Venice International Film Festival, organized by La Biennale di Venezia, will be held on the Lido of Venice from 28th August to 7th September 2013, directed by Alberto Barbera.

The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote the various aspects of international cinema in all its forms: as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. The Festival also organizes retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

Gravity, the new, much-awaited film directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también, Children of Men), starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, is the opening film (Out of Competition) of the 70th Venice International Film Festival. The world premiere of Gravity will screen in 3D on August 28th in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema at the Lido, following the opening ceremony.

In celebration of the 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival, the Biennale di Venezia has created the special project, Venezia 70 – Future Reloaded. 70 movie directors from all over the world have been invited to make a short film lasting between 60 and 90 seconds. All the shorts will be given a first public screening at the Lido during the 70th Venice Film Festival. Featured on July 25th are directors Isabel Coixet and Peter Ho-Sun Chan.