The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world and opens its 80th edition on Wednesday.
Here you will find everything you need to know…
When does the Venice Festival take place?
The festival opens on August 30 with the premiere of the Italian World War II film Comandante, directed by Edoardo De Angelis. The event runs through September 9 and concludes with Spanish-language Netflix drama Society of the Snow.
Where does it take place?
The festival takes place on the Venice Lido – the so-called Venice Beach – a thin barrier island in the Venice Lagoon, just a short boat ride from the capital Venice. Unlike Venice itself, cars have access to the Lido.
WHY IS IT WATCHED SO CLOSELY?
The festival marks the start of awards season and regularly produces big favorites for the Oscars. Eight of the last 11 best director awards at the Oscars have gone to films that premiered in Venice.
Film stars and directors traditionally like to travel to the lagoon city to present their films.
However, there will be a little less glitz than usual this year as the Hollywood actors’ strike will prevent many stars from promoting their work.
WHICH FILMS WERE SELECTED FOR THE FESTIVAL?
The official selection of films shown consists of several categories, at the top of which are those competing for the coveted Golden Lion.
This year’s 23 candidates are, in order of performance:
Comandante, directed by Edoardo De Angelis
El Conde Directed by Pablo Larrain
Dogman Directed by Luc Besson
Ferrari Directed by Michael Mann
The Promised Land, directed by Nikolaj Arcel
Poor Things Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Finally, Dawn. Director: Saverio Costanzo
Maestro. Director: Bradley Cooper
Adagio, directed by Stefano Sollima
The Theory of Everything, directed by Timm Kroger
The Killer, directed by David Fincher
The beast. Director: Bertrand Bonello
Evil Doesn’t Exist Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Priscilla, directed by Sofia Coppola
Green Border, directed by Agnieszka Holland
Enea, Pietro Castellitto
Origin, Director: Ava DuVernay
I, captain, directed by Matteo Garrone
Lubo, directed by Giorgio Diritti
Holly, directed by Fien Troch
Woman Of directed by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert
Memory, directed by Michel Franco
Hors season, directed by Stephane Brize
Are any major films shown out of competition?
Like other festivals, Venice reserves a number of places for interesting films that are screened out of competition.
This year’s offerings include The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial from US director William Friedkin, who passed away this month; Coup de Chance, Woody Allen’s first French-language picture; “The Palace” by Roman Polanski; “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” a short film by Wes Anderson; Aggro Drift directed by Harmony Korine and starring rapper Travis Scott.