Venice 2009: Viggo Mortensen, Salman Rushdie, Todd Haynes

Doru Boguta, Bobby Paunescu, Monica Barladeanu of Francesca, Salman Rushdie

Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Todd Haynes
Photos: Courtesy Venice Film Festival
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FRANCESCA Controversy: Alessandra Mussolini Called “a Whore”

Monica Birladeanu in Francesca (top); Bobby Paunescu (bottom)

Romanian-born filmmaker Bobby Paunescu’s Francesca, which premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival, may be banned from Italian screens following a legal motion by far-right lawmaker Alessandra Mussolini (right), granddaughter of dictator Benito Mussolini and niece of Sophia Loren. Reason for Mussolini’s outrage: in one scene in Francesca, she is called "a whore." (In 2007, Mussolini created a furor after stating that all Romanians living in Italy were "criminals.")
According to reports, right-wing Verona mayor Flavio Tosi has said he has also filed a criminal complaint against Francesca because in the film he is depicted in a "vulgar" manner. Tosi, who has been accused of both racism and instigating racial hatred, is [...]