With the intervention of Zelensky, the war in Ukraine invites itself to the Venice Film Festival

The surprise guest at the opening ceremony of the 79th Venice Film Festival on Wednesday August 31 was indeed an actor. But lately, it is not this costume that Volodymyr Zelensky wears, the Ukrainian president, who before coming to power had had a life in front of the camera.

In Venice, iHe addressed the audience at the opening ceremony via video. Ukrainian President called on the film world not to “do not forget” a war that “has not lasted 120 minutes but for 189 days“.

At the end of his speech, the haunting list of first names of all the children and adolescents (up to 18 years old) killed in the conflict, along with their date and place of birth, paraded against a black background.

Another event linked to the Ukrainian conflict stirred this gala evening. Actress Catherine Deneuve, who received an honorary Golden Lion for her entire career, wore a Ukrainian flag on her blouse during the conference press organized after the ceremony.

When a Ukrainian journalist questioned her on the ongoing conflict, she kicked into touch: “I don’t want to express myself because that what I would say could be distorted”.

Catherine Deneuve then shifted to more classic questions. About her long career award, the 78-year-old actress said she never looked “backward“, preferring to concentrate on his multiple shoots. “It’s not a refusal, it’s that we doesn’t have time, and it’s not part of my life, it’s mostly that!” “I shot in Paris a few weeks ago and I’m starting a film in the language filmed in Belgium in less than a month, so that’s the reality of the present”, she added.