Marion Cotillard Praises Venice Biennale College Cinema Workshop: ‘Not all Films Are Destined to Draw Millions of Viewers and Turn a Profit’

Cotillard is at the Venice Film Festival as Biennale College tutor Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”) is at the Venice Film Festival in a new guise, as tutor of Biennale College Cinema, the workshop allowing emerging filmmakers to develop and produce micro-budget feature-length films, which is sponsored by Chanel. Biennale College Cinemas was conceived 15 years ago by Venice chief Alberto Barbera in tandem with Torino Film Lab topper Savina Neirotti, who heads the unique Venice initiative. During this time Biennale College has spawned 49 feature film projects made with micro-budgets with grants that after the first decade rose from €150,00 ($174,00) to €200,00 ($232) during the past five years.

This year’s Biennale College projects, all first works, hail from China, Italy, Mexico, Spain and the U.S. They are: “Demeter in Exile,” by Italian director Maria Giovanna Cicciari who is teamed wth producer Raffaella Pontarelli. Barbera also said he will soon be announcing the winner of the first edition of Biennale College Blend, the initiative’s new strand for artists looking to explore stories in the multi-media space comprising forms of expression such as music, visual arts, and performing arts.