From Volpi to Clooney, Biennale’s Long History
TORONTO – While the root of Italy and France’s rivalry is nestled somewhere in their historic territorial disputes, Napoleonic Wars and World Wars, a much more amicable [culture] war continues the age-old feud. Cue the “festival fight for Oscar Supremacy” between Europe’s two most prestigious Film Events. France’s Cannes Film Festival boasts star power and prestige while Venice champions arthouse with a glamourous backdrop.
But the fundamental worth of Venice’s Biennale is its history. Because it is in fact the oldest film festival in the world. And the rivalry which inspired its creation was not initially French based. Ironically, it was the growing dominance of American films in Italy that drove Count Giuseppe Volpi to co-found a premier arts event in Venice. Along with his partners Luciano de Feo and Antonio Maraini, Volpi launched Venice’s Biennale in 1932 as a non-competitive event.
With the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival now underway, and poised to have its strongest program in years, a look at how it all started seems apropos. Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata (1877–1947) was an influential Italian businessman and politician whose resume reads a bit like Forrest Gump’s, and could/should inspire a movie of his own.
Before establishing the Venice Biennale, Volpi (in the pic above) served as the Governor of Tripolitania – the north western part of Libya – and acted as Italy’s Minister of Finance. He founded utility companies and developed electricity for Venice and the Balkans in the early 20th century.
A decade later Volpi played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Ouchy, a peace agreement which ended the Italo-Turkish War and saw the Ottoman Empire withdraw its military from modern day Libya.
But it was his stint as Minister of Finance that brought Volpi closer to establishing what today’s artists like to call “La Mostra” (Venice Film Festival). American A-list talents have turned the event into a Celebrity soiree with their now typical glamourous photo op boat arrival – insert George Clooney and Brad Pitt wearing Vuitton and Armani two-button suits. Something Volpi would’ve likely scoffed at.
But the films being imported from America in the 1930s gave Italian audiences a desperately needed reprieve from the Great Depression and general unrest they were experiencing. American films were non-political and light hearted, an affordable and accessible means of escapism.
Yet Volpi saw this as an opportunity to elevate and showcase Italian culture and to provide a platform for an emerging Italian industry.
And while George Clooney is still drawing crowds and catching headlines at Venice, it’s safe to say that the Biennale’s near 100-year legacy has honoured Volpi’s vision. The coveted Golden Lion Award did announce the careers of several Italians across generations: Gillo Pontecorvo, Francesco Rosi, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Bernardo Bertolucci, Liliana Cavani and Roberto Benigni. To name a few.
Image of Clooney and Pitt at Venice 2024 courtesy of Getty Images
Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix
