The 78th Venice Film Festival to kick off with a much anticipated line-up

The Venice International Film Festival gets under way today with a juicy-looking line-up that feels almost like the before times. In other words, those heady days before the Covid-19 pandemic changed lives for ever – and brought the film industry to its knees. Yet with vaccination rates on the rise and increased safety measures in place, the feeling is that this year's event has the opportunity to be really special.

Last year, Venice was the only A-list film festival to take place in physical form, with the Lido archipelago offering a geographical haven for festivalgoers. Temperature checks were mandatory on entrance into the festival area, and having taken place in a time before Covid-19 vaccines, it was a method that kept the virus at bay. Now, vaccinated visitors will be able to use Italy's green pass to enter cinemas, as well as restaurants and other indoor facilities.

It certainly seems like Hollywood has returned to the international festival circuit with confidence at this year's Venice Film Festival, with some heavyweight movies set to be unveiled and stars in attendance on the red carpet.

Out of competition, perhaps the biggest movie to be screened is Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, an epic-looking adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel set far in the future on a desert planet named Arrakis.

Timothee Chalamet, left, and Rebecca Ferguson in a scene from 2021 film 'Dune', which will premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. AP

With Timothee Chalamet leading an all-star cast that includes Zendaya, Oscar Isaac and Jason Momoa, the film was partly filmed in Jordan and Abu Dhabi, with Villeneuve’s team capturing the beautiful desert regions to form the backdrop of Arrakis. Early footage from the trailers looks staggering, with this version liable to consign David Lynch’s maligned 1984 adaptation to the waste bin once and for all.

In competition, there are several A-list directors who will be vying for the festival’s coveted Golden Lion. Opening the festival is Spanish maestro Pedro Almodovar, whose short film The Human Voice played at last year’s event. His new film, Parallel Mothers, starring his regular siren Penelope Cruz, has already caused a storm with its poster, which was removed from Instagram owing to its rules over nudity. Almodovar has already said the film will be his entry into “the female universe”, with a story about two mothers who give birth on the same day.

Also in competition will be The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion’s first film in 12 years, since 2009’s Bright Star. In between, she made the superb two-season show Top of the Lake, but it’s pleasing to see her back with a movie – in what is her first for Netflix. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons play brothers living in 1920s Montana whose lives are torn apart when one marries a young widow (played by Plemons’ real-life partner Kirsten Dunst).

Benedict Cumberbatch, left, and Jesse Plemons in a scene from 'The Power of the Dog', which will also premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. AP

Paul Schrader will also be back on the Lido, some eight years after he brought The Canyons with Lindsay Lohan. This time, he’s written and directed The Card Counter, a glorious-looking tale of an ex-military interrogator turned gambler, played by Oscar Isaac.

With a cast that features Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan and Willem Dafoe, this has all the hallmarks of a classic outing from Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

Italy’s Paolo Sorrentino will also top-line his country’s own competition entries with The Hand of God. Set in the mid-1980s when footballer Diego Maradona joined Napoli and single-handedly turned them into Serie A champions, the film is said to be a reflection on Sorrentino’s own youth and his most personal film to date. After his last Venice-bound efforts, TV dramas The Young Pope and The New Pope, like Campion, it’s good to see him back in cinema.

From the Mena region, there are several key films to look out for. Playing in the Orizzonti Extra strand, Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava, Lebanon stars actor-director Nadine Labaki in a story about a family escaping Beirut’s pollution alongside Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri.

Meanwhile, out of competition, Diana El Jeiroudi’s Republic of Silence is a three-hour documentary that deals with her life in Syria and, as she puts it in her director’s statement, “how cinema has saved our sanity and probably our lives”.

There are also a few major documentaries premiering at the festival.

Becoming Led Zeppelin, by director Bernard MacMahon, is the first officially sanctioned documentary about the famed British rock band and will feature new interviews with remaining members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.

Ennio, meanwhile, celebrates the life and work of Ennio Morricone, the film composer who died last year, aged 91. It's directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, whose classic Cinema Paradiso was scored by Morricone, so you can expect this to be joyous.

Finally, for all Spaghetti Western fans, Django & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained takes a look at the Italian director behind the character Django. Quentin Tarantino narrates in what will undoubtedly be a hot ticket in a festival full of them.

The 78th Venice Film Festival runs until Saturday, September 11.

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.

Western Clubs Champions League:

Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
Friday, Sep 15 – Kandy v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative

While you're here

Watch: Davos 2021 panel discusses the future of work for women

Alice Haine: Investing in gender parity 'makes good business sense'

Kareem Shaheen: How the pandemic could set Arab women back

Simon Rushton: Home schooling forces UK mothers to quit jobs

UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
not be younger than 25 years old
not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially

While you're here ...

Damien McElroy: The risk in extending a lockdown indefinitely

National Editorial: Muslims prepare for Eid under lockdown

Hussein Ibish: For Trump, it's public health vs the economy

if you go

TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

If you go

The flights

Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.

The hotels

Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.