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The 81st Venice Film Festival will take place from August 28 to September 7, featuring 21 films in competition for the Golden Lion.
The 81st Venice Film Festival will showcase 21 films competing for the Golden Lion for Best Film. The festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, announced the lineup during a streamed presentation. This year’s edition promises a rich and varied program, blending established directors with emerging talent.
A host of stars is expected in Venice this year, with celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, Brad Pitt and George Clooney among the guests. Angelina Jolie will portray Maria Callas in Maria, while Lady Gaga will share the screen with Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux. Brad Pitt and George Clooney will light up the red carpet with Wolfs by Jon Watts, shown out of competition. Australian star Nicole Kidman will also be present for her leading role in Babygirl.
Among the most anticipated films is Joker: Folie à Deux by Todd Phillips, the sequel to the highly acclaimed Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Maria by Pablo Larraín, featuring Angelina Jolie as the famous opera singer Maria Callas during her final days in Paris, is also eagerly awaited.
Pedro Almodóvar’s new film, The Room Next Door, marks the Spanish director’s first English-language project, filmed in New York. The film stars Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore and John Turturro. Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman takes the lead role in Babygirl, an erotic thriller directed by Halina Reijn, where she plays a dissatisfied married woman who embarks on a perilous sadomasochistic relationship.
Jude Law stars in The Order by Justin Kurzel, a film that delves into white supremacist groups in the 1980s, with Law playing an undercover FBI agent.
France is well represented with three films: Leurs enfants après eux by Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, Jouer avec le feu by Delphine and Muriel Coulin, an adaptation of Nicolas Mathieu’s Goncourt-winning novel, and Trois amies by Emmanuel Mouret, which explores the intertwined romantic relationships of three women.
Italy is presenting five films, including Queer by Luca Guadagnino, based on William Burroughs’ novel, with Daniel Craig in a role described by Barbera as “the performance of his life.” Another Italian film is Iddu by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, inspired by the life of Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro.
The festival also features a diverse range of international works. Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud is presenting Kjærlighet (Love), an exploration of complex personal relationships, while Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April follows a woman’s journey through loss and recovery.
From Singapore, Yeo Siew Hua offers Stranger Eyes, a gripping tale set against a multicultural backdrop, while Brazilian director Walter Salles returns after a 12-year hiatus with Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here), a true story of a woman searching for her abducted husband during Brazil’s military dictatorship.
List of films in competition
The Room Next Door, Spain
Campo di Battaglia, Italy
Leurs enfants après eux, France
The Brutalist, United Kingdom
Jouer avec le feu, France
Vermiglio, Italy/France/Belgium
Iddu (Sicilian Letters), Italy/France
Queer, Italy/United States
Kjærlighet (Love), Norway
April, Georgia/France/Italy
The Order, Canada
Maria, Italy/Germany
Trois Amies, France
Kill the Jockey, Argentina/Spain
Joker: Folie à Deux, United States
Babygirl, United States
Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here), Brazil/France
Diva Futura, Italy
Harvest, United Kingdom/Germany/Greece/France/United States
Qing Chun Gui (Youth – Homecoming), France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
Stranger Eyes, Singapore/Taiwan/France/United States
With AFP
