July 20, 2013 - 16:29 AMT
Bertolucci, Schrader to produce ultra-short shorts for Venice Film Fest

A total of 70 film directors including acclaimed auteurs Bernardo Bertolucci and Paul Schrader will produce new ultra-short films that will make up a new one-off section at this year's Venice Film Festival to be called "Future Reloaded," The Hollywood Reporter said.

The section was created in honor of the 70th edition of the world's oldest film festival. It will be made up of 70 shorts of between 60 and 90 seconds in length, with no direction or perimeters from the festival.

The festival said Shekhar Kapur, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Abbas Kiarostami, Monte Hellman and Walter Salles also have agreed to produce shorts for the initiative. Other participants, which the festival said will be made up of a mix of established directors and up-and-coming talents, many with previous connections to the festival, will be announced a few at a time on the festival's website through Aug. 27. The festival runs Aug. 28 through Sept. 7.

"Future Reloaded is both a collective movie tribute to the festival and a reflection on the future of cinema," the festival said in a statement.

In addition to providing periodic updates on the participants in Future Reloaded, the festival's website dedicated to the initiative will include information, documents and photos from the colorful history of the festival.