* 6.00 – wake up early, feel strange, can’t sleep in again
* 10.45 – we go to see At Any Price of Ramin Bahrani. Denis Quaid is amazing. The film is alright, the subject interesting, but the cinema not surprising, too glossy and classic.
* 13.00 – we meet with the crew at the Movie village, everyone is nicely dressed up, we eat something and then go to Sala Darsena where the world premiere of my film will be take place…
* 13.50 – BLAST ! We’re waiting with the whole crew at the artist’s entrance, a thousand people are queuing to get in. What? Sala Darsena can take 1300 people and we’re full! I’m completely impressed. I honestly thought there would come some hundred people and we seem to be sold out… Apparently we do are in the “Top 5 to See” of La Repubblica today! Here’s me with the critics of the Settimana. Followed by 3 of the 4 main actors in Welcome Home (Felipe, Kurt & Manah), Nader being in Montréal at this very time.

* 14.10 – We’re entering the Sala Darsena. Tomas, Peter, Manah, Kurt, Félipe and me are introduced by the Settimana della Critica, spotlight ! Then, my film can finally start it’s life.
* 15.30 – Applause. I’m touched. Not much people have left during the show. Starts an interesting Q&A by one of the Settimana’s critics. There’s an Italian translator (afterwards she tells me she worked for 6 years in Brussels and recognizes very much of the town’s feeling in my film). The questions on the podium are about the politics in the film and the way I represent the presence of Europe in the film. It’s funny how easy I feel answering them.

* 16.00 – The Settimana has organised a small cocktail in the Excelsior hotel. We meet and greet our friends. I finally can talk a little with Frédéric Fontaine who stayed after his premiere here, for Tango Libre, to see my film. Swell, he liked it a lot. In fact, some years ago he read the first drafts of the script of Welcome Home on my Brussels terrazza…

* 18.00 – Béatrice, Kurt, Alexander and I have an apéro on the beach. The sky is grey but a Lituanian beer company has payed some young adolescents to dance on techno and invite people to drink their beer. There’s not much people. We’re observing it and talking about the beautiful premiere we had. The Venice Mostra is a strange festival when there is no sun…
* 20.00 – All the friends and colleagues who could make it for Venice are there. We’re having a nice diner in the best restaurant of the Lido 🙂
* 23.00 – We’re walking and walking to find a bar and have some fun together. We don’t find anything except on invitation, so we keep on walking along the Lido.

WHAT A DAY !