Almodóvar will bring his English-language debut to a star-studded 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival

The artistic director of the Venice Festival, Alberto Barbera,**has revealed the official competition poster of the 81st edition of the contest, a star-studded program that should compensate for the absence of stars on the red carpet last year Due to the writers and actors strike the Hollywood.

The festival has earned a reputation as a launching pad for awards seasonand this year’s poster confirms it, with films by the likes of Pablo Larraín, Pedro AlmodovarJustin Kurzel and Luca Guadagnino.

Below you will find the complete poster.

Some of the most notable entries will be the return of Todd Phillips con ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, the second from the 2019 Golden Lion-winning film, ‘Joker’, starring Joaquin Phoenix y Lady Gaga; the debut in English by Pedro Almodóvar, ‘The Room Next Door’, with Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore; the return of Luca Guadagnino with ‘Queer’, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs and starring Daniel Craig; and Maria’, Pablo Larraín’s biographical film about Maria Callas, starring Angelina Jolie.

Larraín’s two previous tragic biopics –‘Spencer’, starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Dianay ‘Jackie’, con Natalie Portman como Kennedy Onassis– also premiered on the Lido.

It is also the Brady Corbet drama ‘The Brutalist’, which chronicles 30 years in the life of László Tóth, a Hungarian-born Jew who survived Auchwitz, played by Adrien Brody. The drama also stars Guy Pierce, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn, Alessandro Nivola and Stacy Martin.

On the other hand, preliminary films include ‘The Order’, by Australian director Justin Kurzel, starring Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult in a story about the FBI investigation in the 80s of the white supremacist organization of the title, and the return of filmmaker Walter Salles with ‘I’m Still Here’, the Brazilian director’s first feature film in more than a decade.

Others stellar movies son ‘Wolfs’, de John Watts, con George Clooney and Brad Pitt (screened out of competition), and ‘Beetlejuice’, the sequel of Tim Burton of the 1988 cult film (also screened out of competition). This supernatural comedy it is starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe, who will attend the premiere.

The competition has a total of three french films: ‘Leurs Enfants Après Eux’ (Our children after us), a maturity story by directors Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, based on the novel by Nicolas Mathieu winner of the Goncourt Prize; ‘Jouer Avec Le Feu’ (The Quiet Son), starring Vincent Lindon in the role of a father who has to face one of his children who flirts with the extreme right; and ‘Trois Amies’, Emmanuel Mouret’s story about three women and their intertwined love relationships.

France will also be represented by legendary director Claude Lelouchwhat will go to Venice with his film ‘Finalement’, a comedy in which Merad Framework participantElsa Zylberstein, Sandrine Bonnaire and Barbara Pravi.

The poster looks pretty loaded with sexual contentnot only with the aforementioned ‘Trois Amies’, but also with the presence of the erotic thriller ‘Babygirl’, con Nicole Kidman embarked in a sadomasochistic relationship with a younger man; and the apparently “extremely explicit” (according to Barbera) ‘Love’, which is part of a unofficial movie trilogy by Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud, which explores sexual behaviors that contrast with social expectations and norms.

It should be noted that, of the 21 films in competitionsix They are led by women, almost double that in previous Venice competitions. This is the aforementioned ‘Jouer Avec Le Feu’, by the duo of directing sisters Delphine and Muriel Coulin; ‘Vermiglio’, the Maura Delpero; ‘Babygirl’, the Halima Reijn; y el period drama ‘Harvest’, by Athina Rachel Tsangari; ‘Diva Futura’, by Giulia Louise Steigerwalt; and ‘April’, of the award-winning Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili, a drama about an obstetrician who perform clandestine abortions in a rural area of ​​Georgia.

Television series by great directors

Besides, T.V. series from acclaimed directors such as Alfonso Cuarón with Disclaimer, starring Cate Blanchett; Thomas Vinterberg with Families Like Ours, a dystopian series of Science fictionabout climate change and Denmark submerged by water; and Joe Wright with M. Il Figlio Del Secolo, will also premiere at the Lido this year.

Finally, we must not forget the critics, since this year ‘Baby Invasion’, Harmony Korine’s new film, premieres out of competition. After ‘AGGRO DR1FT’, which premiered in Venice last year -and who has the honor of being ourworst movie of the year (for now) -, Korine’s last one is an 80 minute thriller about a group of mercenaries who use baby faces as avatars to hide their identity. Apparently, the film promises to “continue challenging the limitations of audiovisual language” and is, according to Barbera, “just as disturbing” as ‘AGGRO DR1FT’. We reserve judgment to see if this is another empty provocation…

In a happier tonePeter Weir y Sigourney Weaver have been chosen to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, e Isabelle Huppert He presides over the jury this year. The jury also includes James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz and Zhang Ziyi.

The Venice Film Festival will be held from August 28 to September 7.

Here is the complete program:

VENEZIA 81 COMPETITION

The room next side, direct: Pedro Almodóvar

Battlefielddir: Gianni Amelio

Their Children After Themdirs: Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma

The Brutalistdir: Brady Corbet

The son tranquilo, dirs: Delphine Coulin, Muriel Coulin

Vermiliondir: Maura Delpero

Sicilian lettersdirs: Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza

Queerdir: Luca Guadagnino

Amordirector: Dag Johan Haugerud

Aprildir: Dea Kulumbegashvili

The orderdir: Justin Kurzel

Maríadir: Pablo Larrain

Three Friendsdir: Emmanuel Mouret

Kill the Jockeysay: Luis Ortega

Joker: Folie à Deuxdir: Todd Phillips

Babygirldir: Halina Reijn

I’m still heredir: Walter Salles

Future Divadir: Giulia Louise Steigerwalt

Harvestdir: Athina Rachel Tsangari

Youth – Homecomingdir: Wang Bing

Stranger Eyesdir: Yeo Siew Hua

OUT OF COMPETITION

Fiction

Beetlejuice Beetlejuicedir: Tim Burton (Inaugural film)

The American Gardendir: Pupi Avati (Closing film)

The Time It Takesdir: Francesca Comencini

Phantosmiasays: Lava Diaz

Feeling sickyou: Fabrice du Welz

Fury rota, Takeshi Kitano

Baby Invasiondir: Harmony Korine

Clouddir: Kurosawa Kiyoshi

Eventuallydir: Claude Lelouch

Wolfsdir: Jon Watts

If I Can Allow It Chapter IIdir: Marco Bellocchio

City Allegorydirector: Alice Rohrwacher, JR

Non-fiction

Why the wardir: Amos Gitai

2073says: Asif Kapadia

Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidaridirs: Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Perenti

Apocalypse in the tropicsdir: Petra Costa

One to One: John & Yokodir: Kevin Macdonald, Sam Rice-Edwards

Separateddir: Errol Morris

Israel Palestine on Swedish television 1958-1989dir: Goran Hugo Olsson

Russians in war, dir: Anastasia Trofimova

TWST/Things We Said Today, dir: Andrei Ujica

Songs of Slow Burning Earth, say: Olha Zhurba

Riefenstahldirector: Andres Veiel

Special screenings

Leopards. The Poet of the Infinitydir: Sergio Rubini

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, dir: Peter Weir

Beauty is not a sin, dir: Nicolas Winding Refn

Series

Disclaimerdir: Alfonso Cuarón

The new Yeardirected by: Rodrigo Sorogoyen del Amo, Sandra Romero

Families like oursdirector: Thomas Vinterberg

M – The Son of the Centurydir: Joe Wright

EXTRA HORIZONS

September 5dir: Tim Fehlbaum

Vittoriadirs: Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey Kauffman

The Mohicandir: Frederic Farrucci

Seeking refuge for Mr. Rambodir: Khaled Mansour

The Story of Frank and Ninadir: Paola Randi

The witnessdir: Nader Saeivar

After Party, director: Vojtech Strakaty

King Ivorydir: John Swab

On the edge of noche, dir: Turker Suer

HORIZONS

Despitedir: Valerio Mastandrea

Thelife quiet, dir: Alexandros Avranas

My Inseparabledir: Anne-Sophie Bailly

Aishadir: Mehdi Barsaoui

Happy Holidaysdirector: Scandar Copti

Familydir: Francesco Costabile

One of those days when Hemme diesdir: Murat Firatoglu

Toque familiar, dir: Sarah Friedland

Marcodirs: Jon Garano, Aitor Arregi

Carissadirs: Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar

Wishing for a estrella, director: Peter Kerekes

Mistress Dispellerdir: Elizabeth Lo

The new year that never camedirector: Bogdan Muresanu

Pooja, Sirdir: Deepak Rauniyar

Of dogs and mendir: Dani Rosenberg

Pavementsdir: Alex Ross Perry

Happy endingsay: Neo Sora

Attachmentdir: Carine Tardieu

Nineteendir: Giovanni Tortorici