Lancia in Venice: So Far a Roaring Success

VENICE - September 4, 2008: A fine achievement for Lancia in the first half of the 65th Venice International Film Festival.

The Lancia Café establishes itself as the most sought-after location for institutional meetings of the Biennale, exclusive parties, press conferences and reunions among stars. Since the Exhibition opened, it has accommodated 14 delegations for the films, in competition and out of competition, Italian and international: from Valentino’s press conference, to interviews with the casts of all the Italian films shown so far and the main foreign films.

These few days have been packed with events, press conferences, cocktails and parties: from the press conference for Il Corriere della Sera Magazine and L’Europeo to the Turin Film Festival cocktail party; from the welcome drink with Afef to the exclusive Lancia Delta party.

In only 7 days, 120 litres of spumante, 100 of beer, 150 of green tea and 90 of Bacardi Breezer have been poured, not to mention the 1,600 Lavazza coffee sorbets served by the 7 barmen at the Lancia Café and also the most popular cocktail, the Martini Pleasure with Martini Bianco, green mint tea and ice.

In great demand are the Lancia Café Bags, now a “must have” accessory in Venice. As a special edition limited to only 100 items, the Lancia Café bag has been made using only film themes. In 100% cotton, it contains a portion of an original advertising poster displayed on the streets of Florence. Yet another tribute from Lancia to cinema.

There are 50 Lancias in Venice, including the new Delta which is clearly the queen of the red carpet, in some cases customised to satisfy special requirements and “whims” of the stars.

Today too the day at Lancia Café has been packed with appointments, with the presentation of the eleventh edition of the Future Film Festival (Bologna, 27 January – 1 February 2009), the most important Italian venue dedicated to digital technologies which Lancia is supporting as the Main Sponsor for the third consecutive year.

At the Future Film Festival, Lancia will be providing a fleet of Deltas and Musas for transporting actors and film directors; thanks to three touch screens with configurator set up at the Palazzo Re Enzo, the public will be able to discover all the Delta’s secrets and appreciate the latest spot starring Richard Gere.

Lancia will also be giving its name to the most desirable prize of the Future Film Festival: the Lancia Platinum Grand Prize, a prestigious recognition to the winner of the competition for feature films in animation or with special effects.

An exclusive guest today at Lancia Café, Heather Parisi, who has come specially from New York for a pre-release presentation of the film “Blind Maze” which will be her cinematographic debut as a screenwriter. The film, for which shooting starts in January, will be filmed mainly in Veneto, Heather’s adopted homeland, between Venice, Treviso and the Brenta Riviera. Focusing on youngsters with histories of hardship who compare notes and clash with the world of adults, Blind Maze – still a provisional title – will feature dance and music as the recurring theme and influential elements. The casting will take place partly in Veneto. Heather Parisi is producing the film with the collaboration of Webcast 4:22.

Also proceeding successfully is the collection of handprints of famous people for “The Sign of Difference”, the project supported by Lancia on behalf of the non-profit organisation SMS Venice, for the protection and preservation of Venice’s historic centre. 40 prints have been produced to date: from Valentino to Charlize Theron, from the Coen brothers to Manoel De Oliveira, from the Mayor of Venice, Massimo Cacciari, together witih the Governor of Veneto, Giancarlo Galan, to the patroness of the Exhibition’s opening and closing days, Ksenia Rappoport; from Tilda Swinton to Carolina Crescentini, Isabella Ferrari and Marta Marzotto.

The first auction has started on E-Bay with the prints of Valentino, the Portuguese director De Oliveira, Massimo Cacciari together with Giancarlo Galan, Ksenia Rappoport, Afef and Gabriel Garko.