Music and cinema fill the salons of Ca' Sagredo during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival
VENICE, ITALY, 11 SEPTEMBER
For one September evening Ca' Sagredo became a meeting place for worlds that rarely share a stage. Opera met contemporary crossover, Egyptian television met a Venetian palazzo, and the sound carried out over the Grand Canal. La Dolce Vita, the Royal Gentlemen Gala Dinner and Congress Awards, took place on 11 September 2026 during the closing days of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, and its artistic programme was the spine of the night.
Manana Palagashvili, co-orginizer of the first AI Film Fest Athens, Producer came to Venice as an honoured guest and sang for the room. An international singer, producer and artist manager, she has spent her career moving between music, cinema, fashion and cultural projects, producing winners and finalists of international talent competitions, collaborating with renowned star producer Goar Bisenkamp and building city twinning initiatives through culture and tourism. Jūrmala and the New Wave International Music Competition, the Golden Apricot International Film Festival, Munich Fashion Week 2026 and Ukrainian Cinema Film Days all sit on that map, which made her presence at Ca' Sagredo, as guest and as performer at once, entirely in keeping with the evening.
Soprano Alina Zamalieva brought the opera stage into the palazzo. A recipient of more than fifteen international honours, she was recognised at the Covent Garden Opera Competition with the London City Philharmonic and took First Prize at the VI International Music Festival in Vienna. A graduate of the Zhiganov State Conservatory in Kazan, she became the youngest soloist of the Tukai State Philharmonic and later studied at the Belcanto Academy with the legendary Mirella Freni, and her voice has since carried her from the Vienna Hofburg to Bern Minster and the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto.
Yuri and Ksenia Wheelman followed with Wheelman Duo and the Couture Crossover language they have made their own, weaving exceptional voices, iconic film music, contemporary sound, movement and visual storytelling into a single performance. Their partnership began at the Bolshoi Theatre and now travels from Monte-Carlo to Cannes. As Art Ambassadors of Blue Alliance Monaco they are developing Echo of the Ocean, an audiovisual project connecting music, imagery, artificial intelligence and ocean protection, a concern that was hard to miss in a room opening straight onto the lagoon.
Rezeda Kalimullina closed the musical journey with her expressive blend of soul, jazz and pop. Twenty five years on stage have given her a directness that needs no amplification, and her artistic development has included mentorship from the multiple Grammy nominated American vocalist, pianist and composer Karen Edwards, whose own career has included performances with Stevie Wonder, Prince and Tony Bennett.
