Kathryn Bigelow calls for global nuclear disarmament in Venice: “We are living in a house of dynamite”
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar-winning director, premiered her first film in eight years tonight at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. The film, titled A House of Dynamite, is a mysterious thriller about a missile attack on the United States. Apart from a few stills, little detail has been revealed.
The screenplay was written by Noah Oppenheim, former NBC News executive and writer of Jackie. The cast includes Idris Elba, Greta Lee, Rebecca Ferguson, Anthony Ramos, Kaitlyn Dever, Tracy Letts, Jason Clarke, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Moses Ingram, Brian Tee, and Kyle Allen.
At the film’s Venice press conference, Bigelow emphasized the urgent need for nuclear disarmament worldwide: “We hope the film will be an invitation to decide what should be done with all these weapons. My answer is that first we must reduce the stockpiles of nuclear warheads. How can the destruction of the world be considered a good defensive strategy? What would be left to defend?”
She added: “I hold a glimmer of hope that one day the nuclear stockpiles will be reduced. But until then, we are living in a house built of dynamite.”
A House of Dynamite marks Bigelow’s first feature since Detroit (2017). Her 2009 film The Hurt Locker won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Three years later, she directed Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, which grossed $132 million.
