From Penelope Cruz to Cate Blanchett – a constellation of stars is expected to arrive in Venice for the film festival, reported France Press.
The Spaniard, who is expected to walk the red carpet, is the heroine of the Italian film “The Immensity” (The Immensity) by Emanuele Criallese, and the Australian is reincarnated in the image of a conductor in the drama “Tar” by director Todd Field, BTA recalls.
The competition program, which was announced today, includes productions by directors such as Darren Aronofsky, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Luca Guadagnino, Todd Field, Andrew Dominique, Alice Diop, Joanna Hogg, Martin McDonagh, Jafar Panahi, Florian Zeller.
A total of 23 productions will compete for the prestigious “Golden Lion” award for best film at this year’s Venice Mostra, which aims to be “a window open to the world,” festival director Alberto Barbera said during the online presentation.
Barbera did not fail to condemn the detention of three filmmakers in Iran. One of them – Jafar Panahi, who has to serve a six-year sentence for “propaganda against the regime”, is included in the competition program with the film “Bears do not exist”.
France is particularly well-represented this year with no fewer than five films in the competition: Rebecca Zlotowski’s Other People’s Children with Virginie Efira, Frederic Wiseman’s A Couple, Ours – a family portrait by Roshdi Zem, Athena by Romain Gavras and Saint Omer by Alice Diop.
French director and writer Florian Zeller has cast stars such as Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern and Anthony Hopkins to represent his new take on the relationship between father and son in The Son.
The 79th edition of the festival marks the return of Darren Aronofsky, who will compete for the Golden Lion with his film The Whale with Brendan Fraser.
Among the other big names is the Mexican Alejandro González Iñárritu, who is included in the competition program with the “very personal” in Alberto Barbera’s words “Bardo, the false chronicle of several truths”.
Among the contenders for the “Golden Lion” is the romantic coming-of-age horror “Totally and Completely” by the Italian Luca Guadagnino with the stellar participation of Timothée Chalamet and Chloe Sevigny.
Viewers will see British Tilda Swinton in Joanna Hogg’s Eternal Daughter, while Irishman Colin Farrell will star in Martin McDonagh’s Banshee of Inishreen.
Among the eagerly awaited productions is “Blonde” by Andrew Dominik – a new reading of the life of Marilyn Monroe with Ana de Armas in the title role.
The rare documentary film to find a place in the competition program falls to “All Beauty and Bloodshed” by the American director Laura Poitrus.
The competition also includes the films “Argentina 1985” by Santiago Mitre, “Chiara” by Susanna Nicciarelli, “Monica” by Andrea Palaoro, “Beyond the Wall” by Vahid Jalilvand, “Love Life” by Koji Fukada, “The Lord of the Ants” by Gianni Amelio.
The non-competition program will feature feature productions such as Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, new documentaries by Oliver Stone, Sergey Loznica and Gianfranco Rossi, and the TV series The Kingdom: Exodus ( “The Kingdom Exodus”) by the Danish director Lars von Trier and “Copenhagen Cowboy” by his compatriot Nicolas Winding Refn.
The chairman of the jury will be the American actress and Oscar winner Julianne Moore. Its composition also includes the French director Audre Diwan, whose film “The Event” was awarded the “Golden Lion” at last year’s edition of the festival, the Nobel laureate for literature Kazuo Ishiguro, the Iranian actress Leila Khatami, the Italian director Leonardo di Constanzo, the Argentinian Mariano Cohn and the Spanish screenwriter and director Rodrigo Sorogoyen.
French movie star Catherine Deneuve and American director (“American Gigolo”) and screenwriter (“Taxi Driver”) Paul Schrader will be honored with Golden Lion honorary awards.
The Venice Film Festival will open with director Noah Baumbach’s film “White Noise” starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, which is also included in the competition program.
–
