Orson Welles taking a water taxi in Venice in 1962.
The Venice Film Festival will announce its 75th annual lineup on July 25 and hopes are high it will include the world premiere of Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind.
Wellesians in Italy say that Venice organizers have long been interested in showing The Other Side of the Wind at their August 29 – September 8 festival and have already seen the film in advance.
A spokeswoman for Netflix, which financed the completion of the film and will distribute it worldwide, told Wellesnet she cannot confirm specific festival appearances at this time, adding “Our release plans are still being determined.”
The streaming giant had hoped to debut The Other Side of the Wind and other high-profile projects at the Cannes Film Festival in May but organizers and Netflix squabbled over festival policies.
In speaking with a Brazilian website earlier this month, Peter Bogdanovich, the film’s co-star and executive producer, said he expected The Other Side of the Wind would play at multiple festivals.
He credited the efforts of his longtime friend, producer Frank Marshall, in helping to keep Bogdanovich’s decades old promise to Welles to see the movie finished in the event of his death.
“There’s more to it than the importance of preserving Welles’ memory; it’s the pleasure of seeing something fresh from him,” Bogdanovich said.
Bogdanovich said he was pleased with the final product, which was edited by Oscar winner Bob Murawski.
“It is impressive to see how good Welles’ directing work is and to see how at ease (John) Huston is as an actor,” he said. ” I began making films 50 years ago with Targets starring Boris Karloff, inspired by what I learned by seeing great directors like Orson. ”
Marshall and producer Filip Jan Rymsza completed post-production in April on the roughly two-hour film, which Welles shot between 1970 and 1976.
Netflix will stream the movie this fall to its 125 million subscribers in 190 countries and release it theatrically.
The Other Side of the Wind takes place at the 70th birthday party of maverick director Jake Hannaford (Huston), who is struggling to complete his comeback film during the rise of New Hollywood. Attending the party are successful young directors, like Brooks Otterlake (Bogdanovich), hangers-on and critics. Hannaford dies at the conclusion of the party. Welles’ movie recounts Hannaford’s final hours using a mix of 16mm and 35mm color and black-and-white film shot at the party, along with scenes from his unfinished movie.
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