Mechanical marvels and the red carpet

With the Biennale in full swing since spring, a plethora of stars attended the 66th Venice International Film Festival for a celebration of the cinema. No fewer than 75 full-length films were shown including Baaria by director Giuseppe Tomatore, and Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. Members of the jury, presided by Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee, included the French actress Sandrine Bonnaire.

For more than ten days, Jaeger-LeCoultre was at the heart of the magic, adorning the festival’s stars with its creations and presenting each of the winners with a personalised Reverso watch. These unique timepieces are engraved with the iconic lion, the enduring symbol of Venice, which rewards the best performances by an actor and an actress, and the film that receives the coveted Golden Lion award.

Anniversary year for the Calibre 101

For this, the 80th anniversary of the legendary Calibre 101, the art of movement brilliantly joined the art of mise en scène as Jaeger-LeCoultre proposed eight unique jewellery creations, including two re-editions, which highlight the fascinating mechanics of the infinitely small. Already in May this year, the German actress and face of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Diane Kruger, chose a 1959 vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre watch when she walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.

Unveiled at an exclusive gala event hosted by Jaeger-LeCoultre – the venue was kept secret until the very last minute – the eight models, each in a different style, shared star billing with a second extraordinary timekeeping revelation: the Hybris Mechanica 55, named after the 55 complications combined in this extraordinary trilogy of watches: the Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie, the Gyrotourbillon and the Reverso à Tryptique. These three outstandingly complex timepieces dazzled as much as the international celebrities who were guests at the event. CEO Jérôme Lambert made clear the importance of this artistic context: “There is no better place than Venice to understand and highlight Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 176 years of history; here at the heart of Italian culture, a renowned celebration of the beauty and perfection of life.”

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award marks another important cinematographic moment for the Fine Watch Manufacture. Recently instituted by the Venice International Film Festival, and organised in partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre, this prize rewards an individual who has left a significant mark on contemporary cinema. After Takeshi Kitano, Agnès Varda and Abbas Kiarostami, this year’s award went to the director, screenwriter and actor Sylvester Stallone. This surprising choice comes as a reminder of Stallone’s unquestionable talent for portraying the darker and lighter sides of the American dream, a duality he revealed in Paradise Alley, his first film as a director. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award was presented to him at the festival’s closing ceremony on September 12th, followed by the world-première screening of sequences from his forthcoming film, The Expendables, in which he stars alongside Mickey Rourke.

Jaeger-LeCoultre also supported the making of the Italian documentary film Negli Occhi, which retraces the life and times of the late Vittorio Mezzogiorno. The Italian actor’s daughter Giovanna is narrator and co-producer of the film, which was shown in competition at the festival. In addition to its support of contemporary film-making, Jaeger-LeCoultre is dedicated to safeguarding cinematographic heritage. As a patron of the Jeu de Paume in Paris since 2007, Jaeger-LeCoultre is partner to the Fellini retrospective that will be staged there from October 20th 2009 to January 17th 2010.