Stage & Screen

A Night of Passage - Venice 2009

Academy Award® Nominee Shekhar Kapur, Nadja Swarovski, Ar Rahman, Haley Bennett celebrate Kapur's first short film ‘PASSAGE’ in Venice.

On the island of La Giudecca, Academy Award® nominated director Shekhar Kapur (ELIZABETH) and Swarovski Entertainment celebrated the international screening of PASSAGE, the first short film to be directed by Kapur. The charming I Granai della Repubblica were transformed into a magical space that played host to a soiree of glamorous stars.

Shekhar Kapur, AR Rahman, Haley Bennett and Nadja Swarovski were among the celebrities enjoying Venetian cocktails and canapés. Guests immerged into the world of PASSAGE for a private screening of PASSAGE as well as a live orchestral performance from India’s Kavita Baliga who sang music from the film scored by Academy Award Winner® AR Rahman.

Kapur’s film stars Julia Stiles (CRY OF THE OWL, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM), Lily Cole (THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, ST TRINIAN’S) and Haley Bennett (MARLEY AND ME, MUSIC AND LYRICS). PASSAGE invites audiences to dive into magical moments of transformation in the lives of three young women. Together with AR Rahman's score Kapur's graceful images merge into a highly emotional and enigmatic passage through despair and loss to reconciliation. The camera itself acts as a kaleidoscope exploring a non-linear time-frame leaving it ultimately for the viewer to individually interpret the meaning of the enchanting and dream-like film. Shekhar Kapur explains “In the complex experience of the film, I invite you, each single viewer, to decide what it means for you”.