George Clooney and Brad Pitt Lead Stellar Lineup at Venice Film Festival’s 81st Edition
The Venice Film Festival, one of the most famous and long-running film festivals in the world, is starting its 81st edition on August 28, 2024.
This year’s festival is led by Alberto Barbera, who will be the director until 2026, and Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. The festival promises to showcase a mix of high-profile premieres, indie projects, and interesting documentaries.
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a highly anticipated sequel to his 1988 hit, will open the festival. The film stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara, and it will be shown out of competition.
The festival will close with Pupi Avanti’s L’Orto Americano, also screening out of competition, ensuring the event starts and ends with a bang .
Big Hollywood stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt are back with Wolfs, directed by Jon Watts. This action drama features the two actors as lone wolf fixers on the same job and is expected to attract a lot of attention.
Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, The Room Next Door, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, will compete for the Golden Lion award, adding excitement to the festival.
The main competition will include a variety of international films and genres. Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, is a notable entry.
The war drama Of Dogs and Men by Israeli director Dani Rosenberg is also in the running. Sarah Friedland’s experimental film Familiar Touch and Deepak Rauniyar’s Indian crime drama Pooja, Sir show the festival’s commitment to diverse stories.
The documentary section features impressive films like Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards’ music documentary One to One: John & Yoko, and Errol Morris’ Separated.
Göran Hugo Olsson’s Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 will provide a thought-provoking look at media coverage of the Middle East crisis. In the TV series section, Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ series Disclaimer and Thomas Vinterberg’s Danish dystopian series “Families Like Ours” are highlights.
The Horizons sidebar, known for its focus on cutting-edge cinema, will feature Alex Ross Perry’s documentary Pavements, about the indie band Pavement, and Khaled Mansour’s first feature film “Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo,” a satire expected to make waves. Tim Fehlbaum’s “September 5” will open the Horizons Extra section, promising a mix of narrative and stylistic innovation.
Renowned French actress Isabelle Huppert will lead the competition jury, joined by directors James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, and others. They will choose the Golden Lion winner, a decision eagerly awaited by filmmakers and fans alike.