La Biennale di Venezia and Campari has announced that the production designer Marcus Rowland (Last Night in Soho, Rocketman, Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) is the recipient of the Campari Passion for Film Award of the 78th Venice International Film Festival (September 1 – 11, 2021).
The award, instituted three years ago at the 75th Venice Film Festival, seeks to highlight the remarkable contribution given by the director’s closest collaborators to the fulfilment of the artistic project that each film represents. Passion for Film attributes this award to these professional figures (three years ago the prize was awarded to American film editor Bob Murawski, two years ago to the Italian cinematographer Luca Bigazzi, last year to the jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard), who are more than just craftsmen: they are artists and co-authors of the films to which they offer the gift of their unparalleled talent.
The ceremony for the award to Marcus Rowland will take place on Saturday 4th of September at 10:00pm in the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema) before the screening Out of Competition of Last Night in Soho (UK, 118’) by Edgar Wright with Anya Taylor-Joy, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, and Diana Rigg, featuring Marcus Rowland’s production design.
Marcus Rowland said: “I’m very honoured to receive The Campari Passion for Film award and immensely grateful to have been selected. Filmmaking for me is a wonderful collaboration of individuals with their own unique creative skills focusing towards a singular goal. Nothing defines this more for me than the amazing 20 year journey I’ve travelled with Edgar Wright and our wonderful film family.”
Alberto Barbera noted: “What directors who have worked with Marcus Rowland in film, television, and advertising appreciate about him most is his ability to transform what is only a mental image into reality. He has worked closely with Edgar Wright for twenty years and the director, who appreciates his limitless creativity and his ability to go beyond what one normally thinks a production designer does on set, considers him a perfect collaborator. Rowland is involved from the earliest phases of script development to the end of post-production; he is an artist in the fullest sense of the term. He collaborates fully on the conception of the overall look the film will assume, from the sets to the choice of locations, the color palette of the costumes and the actors’ makeup, all the way to the special effects that will be used. Edgar Wright considers him one of his very few collaborators who can be considered the creative compass to consult before tackling every single phase of a movie’s creative process.”
“For the fourth year in a row, we are very proud to confirm the official ‘Campari Passion for Film Award’, created by Campari alongside the Artistic Direction of the Exhibition”, announced Clarice Pinto, senior marketing director Campari Group. “Sticking with the main theme that everything comes about through Passion, already understood as a fundamental element for inspiring Creativity, the Prize is aimed at showing an appreciation for the figures who, alongside the director, contribute to excellence when creating cinematic art. This year, in choosing Marcus Rowland, we have rewarded the role of production designer; a profession that is characterised by a distinct aesthetic and artistic sensitivity and the ability to look beyond barriers and place fantasy and imagination centre stage”.
