Willem Dafoe, Kleber Mendonça Filho Rock Venice Film Festival’s Pre-Opening Rooftop Party at Danieli Hotel, Co-Hosted by Leone Film Group

Willem Dafoe, who stars in Tim Burton’s fest opener “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” along with jury members Kleber Mendonça Filho (“Bacurau”) and Giuseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso”) turned up at the annual Venice Film Festival‘s pre-opening party on the rooftop of the Danieli Hotel on Tuesday night.

Co-hosted by the Leone Film Group, Variety and the Danieli Hotel, the glamorous bash brought together a mix of stars, global industry movers and shakers, including hitmaking Italian director Paolo Genovese, Los Angeles-based producer Niels Juul (“Ferrari”) and Bárbara Paz, a Brazilian actor and filmmaker.

“Here we go again!” said Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera from the rooftop boasting a 180-degree view of the Venice Lagoon. “We are here once again to celebrate the pre-opening of the Venice Film Festival,” he continued, before noting that this year’s star-studded lineup is being praised as the strongest in years. “I’m not sure about that, though surely there are a lot of good things to see and a huge amount of talent,” Barbera cautioned. “You will let me know at the end of the festival if you are satisfied or not.”

Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh pointed out that “Alberto is being a little modest,” noting that “if you look at the recent movies that have won the Golden Lion, you have “Poor Things”; “Nomadland”; “Joker”; “Roma” and “The Shape of Water,” among other titles. “These are some of the biggest movies that have come out in recent years; under your vision, under your direction,” Setoodeh said.

For prominent producer and distributor Raffaella Leone, the party was also a way of celebrating Leone Film Group’s 35th anniversary and the legacy of her father, late great moviemaking maestro Sergio Leone. “Looking at the future with the same enthusiasm and passion we have found someone who has the same vision,” she said, welcoming the company’s new partner Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the Italian entrepreneur, who is president of Ray-Ban.

Following the speeches, Joe T Vannelli spun thumping house beats while guests sipped cocktails inspired by Chopin’s sonatas and dibbed on esoteric food, including shrimp gazpacho in coconut tempura and tandoori; creme fraiche and caviar tartelettes; and an exotic soup with mango sorbet.

The Venice Film Festival officially kicks off today with the world premiere of Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”