How to get the most out of the Venice Film Festival 2014

Attending the Film Festival at Lido: insider tips

The 71st Venice International Film Festival takes place from August 27th to September 6th, 2014, when once again the international movie stars will cross the red carpet at Lido. The Venice Film Festival is one of the the oldest international film festivals and any major international movie stars come to Venice at least once in their careers.

The 2014 line up is very promising. The favorites in the competition are Fatih Akin with The Cut, Ramin Bahrani's drama 99 Homes, The Look of Silence by Joshua Oppenheimer, David Gordon with Manglehorn and Pasolini by Abel Ferrara.

The Venice Film Festival kicks off on August 27th at 19.00 with the premiere of Alejandro Inarritu's Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance and closes on September 6th with the Awards Ceremony at 19.00 and Ann Hui's The Golden Era, a tale of Japanese imperialism in China.

Since the Venice Film Festival takes place in the most romantic city in the world, movie stars are common guests: 2014 fans will be able to see Ethan Hawke, Al Pacino, Tahar Rahim, Michael Keaton, Willem Dafoe and Andrew Garfield on the red carpet. The Venice Festival is also easily accessible to film lovers: tickets for Sala Grande range between 12 and 45 Euro per screening, with double night screenings of the most important movies in original language at the spacious tent PalaBiennale for 20 Euros for 2 movies.

Access, services and amenities are excellent: special vaporetto lines between Venice and Lido, free WiFi service around the Venice Film Festival Area, Piazzale S. Maria Elisabetta and the Gran Viale. Tickets are available at the box office on Lido's Piazzale del Casino or at the one in Saint Marks. Visit the official website for more information.

Despite the International Film Festival brings ‘glamour’ on the island and the sparkling Adriatic Sea, boutiques and opulent hotels become once again a playground for rich and famous people, Lido is still accessible to ordinary visitors going to the beach, having an aperitif or a dinner with the background of the Film Festival.

Our Tips:

Try an ice cream at the “gelateria” Magiche Voglie in Gran Viale, one of the best ice creams shops on the island. In addition to traditional ice creams, the shop also features seasonal fruit sorbets “granita“ at seasonal flavours. For small breaks there is an excellent take away pizza place, FABIO'S Pizza & Co (Gran Viale), or El Pecador in Lungomare d'Annunzio, a nice fast food shop housed in a London style double deck bus where you can eat hot sandwiches and richly stuffed burgers made by a couple of hippie Mexicans. At the restaurant Caribe Sorriso on Lungomare Marconi you will have an excellent view and eat fresh fish or pizza, at excellent price and quality.

Party Locations

Bar Pagoda is located on the beach of Des Bains and is the perfect bar to drink an aperitif in the afternoon, and to go clubbing at night. The Pagoda is one of the cool places during the Film Festival. During the film festival you will find several small bars called “Chioschetto” on Lungomare Marconi, where you can have a Spriz Aperol or a beer while waiting for the movies to start. One of the popular party locations during film festival is also Excelsior Hotel (Lungomare Marconi, 41).

The Beach

If you would like to go to the beach, try the Pachuka, one of the the most beautiful places on the Lido island, overlooking the long stretch of sand that leads to the sea, where you can spend a day swimming and an evenins under the stars with live music. You will find a nice beach also at Alberoni, a beautiful seaside resort situated at the South end of Lido island, approximately 20 minutes from S. Maria Elisabetta. Its atmosphere is magical and romantic, the beach has soft and very thin sand and there is one of the most beautiful golf courses of Europe. You can easily reach it by bus or bike (bike rental in Lido Venice for 9€ per day).

Accommodation

Spend a few days at Lido during Film Festival. We recommend you book accommodation in Venice since there are boat transports all night long directly from the festival area back to the main island of Venice. At HostelsClub we have plenty of nice and budget-friendly hotels and hostels even during the Venice Film Festival!