Che bello! On Friday night, a glittering cast of film and fashion talents elegantly made their way onto the dock of the Gritti Palace from an army of grumbling water taxis, ready to celebrate Cartier’s fifth year as main sponsor of the Venice Film Festival—and the launch of the fine jewelry house’s brand-new Cartier Cinema Club.
Emma Corrin was one of the first onto the terrace in a slinky black camisole dress by Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford and a diamond-studded Panthère de Cartier earring and bracelet. Her ‘only in Venice’ moment that evening? “Only in Venice is when you’re at the most glamorous event, but it’s the middle of summer, so you’re sweating through everything you own,” Corrin said, laughing. Close behind the actor was Kate Mara, the day after her premiere for Werner Herzog’s madcap black comedy Bucking Fastard, in a high-neck Gucci dress slathered with crystals. “I don’t have any secret spots here in Venice to share with you because this is only my second time here,” she says, before adding: “It’s pretty special to arrive at your premiere on the water, though.”
All eyes were on Amal Clooney, who arrived in a blazing red draped chiffon gown paired with an eye-popping chrysoprase, coral, and diamond Cartier pendant necklace. Before heading to the bar, she stopped to chat with Vogue about her time at the festival with her husband, George Clooney, who received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award on Wednesday night at the opening gala. “Only at the Venice Film Festival can I watch amazing movies, but also be in the most romantic place in the world and relive some incredible moments,” she said. “Just this trip, we went back to the place where we got married. We’re staying in the same room at the hotel where we got married, and it’s a place we come back to time and time again—there’s nowhere like it for us. It’s really special and really beautiful.”
After drinks, it was time for a candlelit dinner—an Italian seafood feast of amberjack and lobster, followed by pineapple carpaccio—on the terrace. It was a vibe akin to a family reunion: many of the stars and Cartier clients have attended multiple years in a row, and look forward to catching up every September in La Serenissima. (Bonus points, too, for the lavish tablescapes, complete with abundant floral arrangements of glossy anthuriums and Cartier red pompon dahlias.) Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, took the mic to reaffirm the house’s commitment to supporting the festival and to introduce the Cinema Club concept, before the festivities moved to the roof terrace for cocktails and dancing to a DJ spinning vinyls live.
There was plenty of chatter about the previous evening’s premiere of Wild Horse Nine, the Martin McDonagh-directed CIA caper that has already seen its star, John Malkovich, rocket to the front of this year’s best actor Oscar race. Though there was equal excitement for Saturday night’s presentation of La La Land at the city’s iconic opera house, Teatro La Fenice, with Cartier staging a live musical celebration of the film for its 10th anniversary. “To conduct an orchestra along with La La Land, in Venice where the world first saw La La Land 10 years ago, is an absolute dream come true,” the film’s composer, Justin Hurwitz, said. Also on the agenda this year? A series of masterclasses on the Lido with director Chloe Zhao and her Hamnet cinematographer Łukasz Żal, as well as a trophy for Luca Guadagnino, who will receive the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award during a special ceremony at the Palazzo del Casino.
But most of all, it was an opportunity for many of the biggest stars whose films are premiering this week, as well as some of the jury members—including composer Daniel Blumberg and his girlfriend, Taylor Russell—to sit back, sip a negroni, catch up with friends, and watch the reflection of the grand Santa Maria della Salute church on the opposite bank shimmering in the black waters of the Grand Canal. That’s why Venice is often referred to as the most glamorous film festival in the world.