After a lackluster 2023 edition due to the strike in Hollywood, the Mostra is returning with a five-star cast, including Nicole Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Winona Ryder. Three French films are also in competition.
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The 81st Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday, August 28. After a lackluster 2023 edition due to the strike in Hollywood, a host of stars will be visiting the lagoon this year. The most anticipated stars and film are undoubtedly Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix, for the sequel to the Jokerstill as scary. But there is a battle with Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas on the bill for Babygirlan erotic thriller, or with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, reunited with weapons in hand in Wolfs.
The opening film will also be a real fireworks display, with Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Willem Dafoe in the sequel to the cult classic Beetlejuice by Tim Burton. “Venice has regained the top ranks with one limitation: what Cannes has in addition is the film market,” says Laura Delli Colli, one of the leading film critics in Italy.
A special feature of this edition is that a small section is dedicated to series, not in competition. Families Like Ours, by Thomas Vinterberg and Disclaimer, by Alfonso Cuaron, will be screened. Over two evenings each time, festival-goers will spend seven to ten hours in front of the screen.
“These are not TV series, they are real films, very long, explains Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Mostra, during the presentation press conference. It seemed important to us to do this experiment. It is the role of the festival to highlight the significant changes in the world of animated images.”
On the French side, three films are in competition: Their children after themtaken from the 2018 Goncourt Prize-winning book by Nicolas Mathieu, Play with fire and with Vincent Lindon, and Three friends by Emmanuel Mouret. And the president of the jury is French, Isabelle Huppert. “She is very well known, very loved here, but she is a problem. Huppert has her character, adds Laura Delli Colli. The good thing is that she often surprises, she might surprise us as president of the jury.” Claude Lelouch will also be in Venice this year, whose new film, Eventuallywill be presented out of competition.