Welcome readers! I'm very happy to begin this blogging activity with daily reports from the 66th Venice Film Festival. It means so much for every Italian cinephile like me, so I will try to convey to you all the emotions, impressions, and sensations developing from the lagoon.

I am just arrived here in Venice and I am very surprised to see the festival area completely transformed by the impressive (and necessary) works that have extended and updated the "Palazzo del cinema." From an aesthetic point of view, the organizers have done an outstanding job, and scaffolds and barriers are absolutely hidden by the smart set design.

However, this temporary situation causes long lines and makes movement difficult for all those who work with the festival, including journalists, reporters and critics, who are having a hard time searching their way to reach the movie rooms and to do their job.

Another unmistakable fact is that attendace is decreased this year: despite the lines, there are few people, due maybe to the economic crisis, or to the fact that the the festival has been postponed by one week.

And the movies?

The program is very interesting. We'll see. Today I've only seen Rec 2, a Spanish horror movie, sequel of a good 2007 movie (many of you will remember the American remake of Rec, called Quarantine). This second chapter is simply fun, but not very interesting and not so original as the first one (exspecially the camera-eye idea is very confusing and badly managed).

Tomorrow I will start my screening day with Baarìa, the new movie by Giuseppe Tornatore, one of the Italian directors most loved in America. I'll post very soon my review, so stay tuned.