La Mostra, as Venice’s glam film festival is known in Italy, is one of Europe’s premier venues for innovative filmmaking. Naturally, it would only be half as captivating without the glamour of luxury wristwatches. Now in its tenth year of partnership with La Biennale di Venezia (its official title), Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the main sponsors of the gala event featuring 55 films competing for prizes from 71 countries; 54 of these feature films are world premieres.
La Mostra, as it is informally known (derived from the Italian word for “show” or “exhibition”), opened on August 27, 2014 with the premier of Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance.
As Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced its Hybris Artistica set of 12 one-of-a-kind timepieces in 2014, which are very special in terms of both mechanics and artistic development, it is only fitting that at the opening ceremony two actresses chose to wear very special high jewelry timepieces from the brand's collection on the red carpet.
The entire set of 12 exclusive watches will be showcased throughout the 71st Venice International Film Festival, where they are on display. If you would like to see original photos of all of them, please read When Art Ticks: Why Jaeger-LeCoultre Is A Master Of Art And Mechanics.
Actress Sarah Gadon wore the Reverso Cordonnet Duetto to the Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance’s premier, which sparkles with more than 1,250 diamonds, including its cordlet-style bracelet. This timepiece possesses two dials, which can be reversed to show either one at any time: on this particular model one side is adorned with lapis lazuli and on the other natural mother-of-pearl.
Actress Zhao Wei chose to wear a timepiece from the Hybris Artistica collection for her appearance on the red carpet: the Reverso Cordonnet Neva, which is fully snow-set with diamonds.
La Mostra is a ten-day spectacle of glamour, artistry, and culture, and Jaeger-LeCoultre is especially proud to assume a high profile during the event’s highlights: all the way through to September 6, the legendary Swiss brand will be actively involved in all the festivities, ranging from the famous Golden Lion award ceremony, during which the winners will receive personalized timepieces, to the Glory to the Filmmaker Award, which was created at the 2007 edition of the Mostra in honor of director Takeshi Kitano. Jaeger-LeCoultre has sponsored this award for seven years.
At this 71st edition of Venice’s film festival, the Glory to the Filmmaker Award will be presented to James Franco. The award is accompanied by a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso that has been made unique by commemorative engraving and enameling. This distinction is conferred upon a personality who has made a significant contribution to the development of contemporary cinema, with past honorees including Ettore Scola, Spike Lee, Al Pacino, Mani Ratnam, Sylvester Stallone, Agnès Varda and Abbas Kiarostami.
Following the presentation of the award, the festival will screen the world premiere of the new film written, directed and interpreted by James Franco, which is out of competition, The Sound and the Fury. Franco also stars as one of the main characters in the film alongside Scott Haze, Tim Blake Nelson, Joey King, Ahna O’Reilly, Seth Rogen and Jon Hamm.
The Mostra, originally titled Esposizione d’Arte Cinematografica, was born in 1932 as part of the eighteenth edition of the Venice Biennale. This 1930s edition of the film festival was held on the terrace of the Hotel Excelsior on Venice’s Lido, the island that is still home to today’s Mostra. The first feature film ever to be screened at the festival was 1932’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which was followed by a grand ball, though no official awards were given at the time.
Elizabeth Doerr is the editor-in-chief of Quill & Pad, an online magazine that keeps a watch on time.
