For the opening night of the 71st Venice Film Festival Iñárritu's new film: Birdman.
Birdman or
The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, directed by
Alejandro G. Iñárritu will be the opening film of the
71st Venice Film Festival (
August 27th – September 6th 2014). The film stars
Michael Keaton, main protagonist, along with Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts and the world premiere will be screened in competition on August 27th in the Sala Grande of the
Palazzo del Cinema at the
Lido, following the opening ceremony hosted.
Birdman is a black comedy where
Keaton plays an actor famous for portraying an iconic superhero who is trying to mount a Broadway play. In the days before the opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu made his breakthrough in 2000 with the film
Amores Perros which received an Oscar nomination for best foreign film and won the Semaine de la Critique prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2003 Iñárritu directed
21 Grams starring Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts. The film participated in the 60th Venice Film Festival where Penn won the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, whereas Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro received an Oscar nomination for their performances. In 2006, he directed
Babel, the last film of his trilogy, receiving the prize for best director at the 58th Cannes Film Festival. The film also received seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Director and won the Oscar for best original soundtrack. It also received seven Golden Globes nominations and won the prize for Best Motion Picture – Drama. In 2007 the director was a member of the International Jury of the 64th Venice Film Festival’s Competition. In 2010 he presented his film
Biutiful in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where Javier Bardem won the prize for Best Actor. Biutiful received an Oscar nomination for best foreign film, and Bardem was nominated for best actor.
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