Lucire travel editor Stanley Moss has penned a new novel, this one written during the COVID-19 pandemic as he braved the dire situation in his base in northern Italy, at one point Europe’s “ground zero” for the virus. Arborea, out now, once again brings together a cast of international characters in an intriguing and entertaining tale, this time set at an exclusive luxury resort in northern California where the rich gather and, as it so happens, a group of eco-warriors. As with The Hacker, which we serialized in Lucire, and its sequel Hack Is Back, which is coming up, Stanley’s story engrosses the reader and could easily become a screenplay, such is the richness and diversity of the characters and the characterizations. Like these earlier works, Arborea is very much of our times.
   From the synopsis: ‘Imagine an ultra-modern luxury resort located among the old-growth redwoods on an isolated stretch of California coastline. Imagine what happens when a famous tech billionaire and his wife arrive for a romantic weekend at exactly the same moment as a dedicated army of eco-warriors descend on the site to conduct a stealth operation. But the storm of the century is on its way to dampen everyone’s plans. Find out what happens in this comedy of errors, when nature interferes with the best made plans of well intentioned humans.’
   Arborea is published by Second Guess Press and available from Amazon at US$16·99.

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German film Und morgen die ganze Welt (And Tomorrow the Entire World) was first up at the Corradi Cinema Lounge on day 10 of the 77ª Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica di Venezia at the Ausonia Hungaria hotel. The film, which premièred the day before, is another topical tale, this time about a group of Antifa students, directed by Julia von Heinz, starring Mala Emde, Luisa-Céline Gaffron, Noah Saavedra, and Andreas Lust. The five were the guests at the Lounge.
   Actress Elena Arvigo (Eat Pray Love) then attended, in advance of her new film Zombie, directed by Giorgio Diritti, who was also present. Mirko Frezza posed with his motorcycle, promoting Rockers. Director Miki Shipperman, producer Andrea Ferrari, and co-stars Michelle Carpente and Tullio Sorrentino accompanied him.
   The festival’s president, Roberto Cicutto, visited as the event wrapped up.
   The Leone d’Or went to Chinese director Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, while Nuevo orden (New Order) director and screenwriter Michel Franco took the grand jury prize for his film about a dystopian México. The Leone d’Argento was won by Kiyoshi Kurosawa for スパイの妻 (Wife of a Spy).
   The Volpi cups for best actress and actor went to Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman and Pierfrancesco Favino for Padrenostro respectively. Chaitanya Tamhane for The Disciple won best screenplay, while Andrei Konchalvosky’s Дорогие товарищи! (Dear Comrades!) won the special jury prize. The Marcello Mastroianni Award was awarded to Rouhollah Zamani for خورشید‎ (The Sun).
   Hotcorn.com partnered with Corradi for the Cinema Lounge. Twenty-eight film casts attended to promote their films, with over 80 special guests.

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Michel Franco’s New Order, which had its première on day 8 of the 77ª Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica di Venezia, the 77th Venice Film Festival, was the talked-about movie the following day when its cast turned up at the Corradi Cinema Lounge on day 9. The near-future dystopian film, dealing with a coup d’état where the rich are replaced by a militarized régime, is the only Latin film that is part of the main competition at Venezia. Shot in México, the film is a commentary on the country, Franco’s homeland, and its social disparity.
   Franco was joined by Diego Boneta, Darío Yazbek Bernal, Naian González Norvind and Mónica del Carmen at the Ausonia Hungaria hotel.
   Stefano Calvagna presented his documentary film Distanziati, a work very much of our times, as it looked at Roman citizens during phase 1 of Italy’s COVID-19 lockdown.
   Claudio Giovannesi, president of the competition’s jury, also visited the Lounge, as did Jasmine Trinca (in Giorgia Farina’s Guida romantica a posti perduti), and Gianfranco Rosi, director of Notturno, who received 10 minutes of applause for his film on day 8. Actor Stefano Accorsi visited as the day drew to a close.
   Other celebrities on day 9 included Und morgen die ganze Welt’s (And Tomorrow the Entire World) Julia von Heinz, Mala Emde, Luisa-Céline Gaffron, Noah Saavedra, Andreas Lust, and Tonio Schneider.

The Corradi Cinema Lounge at the 77ª Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica di Venezia, the Venice Film Festival, welcomed Samuele Carrino and Salvatore Esposito from Spaccapietre, as well as its directors Gianluca and Massimiliano de Serio, for day seven. The story focuses on the hiring of illegal labourers in Italy.
   Actress Anna Foglietta also appeared as a guest at the Lounge, as did the cast of Giorgia Farina’s Guida romantica a posti perduti, with Clive Owen, Jasmine Trinca, Irène Jacob, and Andrea Carpenzano.

   Day eight’s special guest was Alberto Barbera, director of the festival. Of the entrants competing for the Leone d’oro in the festival, the Lounge at the Ausonia Hungaria welcomed Amos Gitai, whose film, Laila in Haifa, deals with the coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis in their contemporary everyday lives. The protagonist, Laila, played by Maria Zreik, sets up an environment in a pub where people can talk about their stories. The film looks at the interconnected stories of five women. Others attending on day seven were Vittorio Sgarbi and Luigi Brugnaro.
   Film website Hotcorn.com is a sponsor of the Corradi Cinema Lounge.

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The Corradi Cinema Lounge at the 77ª Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica di Venezia, the Venice Film Festival played host to Gia Coppola, niece of Francis Ford Coppola, and Romola Garai and Susanna Nicchiarelli (Miss Marx) on day five.
   Coppola directs Mainstream, which she calls a ‘satirical fable’ about young Angelinos who aim to create viral content on YouTube, with parallels to earlier films such as Network.
   Director Peter Marcias (Nilde Lotti, the Time of Women), film critic Nick Vivarelli, and Brazilian singer–songwriter Caetano Veloso (Narciso Em Fèrias) also had stints at the Lounge.

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Day four at the 77ª Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica di Venezia, the Venice Film Festival, saw the Corradi Cinema Lounge at the Ausonia Hungaria host director Susanna Nicchiarelli and actress Romola Garai, there for the première of their film, Miss Marx, a biopic about Eleanor, Karl Marx’s daughter, who addressed issues of feminism and socialism.
   The Duke’s Roger Michell and Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent returned for a second day. Massimiliano Caiazzo also popped into the lounge to promote his upcoming RAI TV series Mare fuori, as did Non odiare’s Luka Žunić, director Mauro Mancini and producer Mario Mazzarotto.
   Sky’s 100 × 100 Cinema interviewed film critic Francesco Castelnuovo at the Lounge.
   On the red carpet for Miss Marx were Nicchiarelli and Garai, as well as Patrick Kennedy, Philip Gröning, and Felicity Montagu. Mandibules also had its première on day four, with Greco-French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos and her fellow cast members.

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