Last year's Venice International Film Festival launched such films as The Banshees of Inisherin, which went on to receive a total of nine Oscar nominations, and TÁR, which earned six Oscar nominations, as well as The Whale, for which Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor earlier this year. Meanwhile, Venice's top prize — the Golden Lion — was awarded to Laura Poitras' documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which likewise went on to compete at the 95th Oscars.
Which is to say, all eyes are on the Lido for the 80th Venice Film Festival. While some debate remains over how the state of Hollywood will affect this fall's festival season, this year's anniversary edition will feature new works from Oscar winners Sofia Coppola and William Friedkin and Oscar nominees Wes Anderson, Bradley Cooper, Ava DuVernay, David Fincher, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Yorgos Lanthimos, Richard Linklater, Michael Mann, and more.
Though there remain some unanswered questions around the festival — who, exactly, will be walking the red carpet this year? And what will become of the star-deprived water taxis? — the slate of films shines as bright as ever. Read on for everything you need to know about this year's Venice Film Festival.
When and where is this year's festival?
The 80th Venice International Film Festival will take place on the Lido from Aug. 30 to Sept. 9.
Which films are screening at Venice?
Previously, Challengers, Luca Guadagnino's sports drama starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist, was announced as this year's Opening Night Film; however, MGM withdrew the film from Venice amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Venice director Alberto Barbera confirmed Challengers was the only film pulled from the festival.
In its place, Italian filmmaker Edoardo De Angelis' Comandante is set to open the festival on Aug. 30. The historical drama stars Pierfrancesco Favino as Salvatore Todaro, a World War II submarine commander who after sinking an armed merchant ship, proceeds to save the 26 shipwrecked Belgians onboard in a perilous yet humanitarian mission.
Spanish director J.A. Bayona's La Sociedad de la nieve (Society of the Snow) is the Closing Night Film on on Saturday, Sept. 9. Set in 1972, the film is the true story of the Uruguayan rugby team, who charted a plane to Chile that crashed in Andes, leaving the 29 survivors stranded. Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Esteban Kukuriczka and Tomas Wolf star.
Below, see the complete line-up of the 80th Venice International Film Festival:
Competition
Comandante, Edoardo De Angelis – Opening Film
The Promised Land, Nikolaj Arcel
Dogman, Luc Besson
Le Bête, Bertrand Bonello
Hors-Saison, Stéphane Brizé
Enea, Pietro Castellitto
Maestro, Bradley Cooper
Priscilla, Sofia Coppola
Finally Dawn, Saverio Costanzo
Lubo, Giorgio Diritti
Origin, Ava DuVernay
The Killer, David Fincher
Memory, Michel Franco
Io Capitano, Matteo Garrone
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
The Green Border, Agnieszka Holland
The Theory of Everything, Timm Kröger
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos
El Conde, Pablo Larrain
Ferrari, Michael Mann
Adagio, Stefano Sollima
Woman Of, Małgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert
Holly, Fien Torch
Out of Competition — Fiction
Society of the Snow, J.A. Bayona – Closing Film
Coup de Chance, Woody Allen
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson
The Penitent, Luca Barbareschi
L’Ordine Del Tempo, Liliana Cavani
Vivants, Alix Delaporte
Welcome to Paradise, Leonardo di Costanzo
Daaaaaali!, Quentin Dupieux
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, William Friedkin
Making of, Cédric Kahn
Aggro Dr1ft, Harmony Korine
Hit Man, Richard Linklater
The Palace, Roman Polanski
Snow Leopard, Pema Tseden
Out of Competition — Nonfiction
Amor, Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Frente A Guernica (Uncut Version), Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi
Hollywoodgate, Ibrahim Nash’at
Ryuichi Sakamoto — Opus, Neo Sora
Enzo Jannacci Vengo Anch’io, Giorgio Verdelli
Menus Plaisirs, Frederick Wiseman
Out of Competition — Series
D’argent et de sang, Xavier Giannoli, Fredéric Planchon
I Know Your Soul, created by Jasmila Zbanic and Damir Ibrahimovic, directed by Alen Drjević and Nermin Hamzagic
Horizons
A Cielo Aperto, Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga
El Paraiso, Enrico Maria Artale
Behind the Mountains, Mohamed Ben Attia
The Red Suitcase, Fidel Devkota
Tatami, Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Paradise Is Burning, Mika Gustavson
The Featherweight, Robert Colony
Invelle, Simone Massi
Hesitation Wound, Selman Nacar
Heartless, Nara Normande, Tião
Una Sterminata Domenica, Alain Parroni
City of Wind, Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Explanation for Everything, Gábor Reisz
Gasoline Rainbow, Bill Ross, Turner Ross
En Attendant La Nuit, Céline Rouzet
Housekeeping for Beginners, Goran Stolevski
Shadow of Fire, Shinya Tsukamoto
Dormitory, Nehir Tuna
Horizons Extra
Bota Jonë, Luàna Barjami
Forever Forever, Anna Buryachkova
The Rescue, Daniela Goggi
Day of the Fight, Jack Huston
In the Land of Saints and Sinners, Robert Lorenz
Felicità, Micaela Ramazzotti
Pet Shop Boys, Olmo Schnabel
Stolen, Karan Tejpal
L’Homme D’Argille, Anaïs Tellene
Who is on this year's Venice jury?
The Venezia 80 competition jury decides on the winners of the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and "Marcello Mastroianni" Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle, who premiered both La La Land and First Man in Venice, will chair the Venezia 80 competition jury, with Oscar-winning filmmakers Jane Campion and Laura Poitras, Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve, Italian filmmaker Gabriele Mainetti, Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh, Argentine filmmaker Santiago Mitre, and Chinese actress Shu Qi.
The Orizzonti (or Horizons) jury comprises Italian filmmaker Jonas Carpignano, who serves as president, alongside Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, American filmmaker Kahlil Joseph, French filmmaker Jean-Paul Salomé, and British festival director and programmer Tricia Tuttle.
Finally, the Lion of the Future ("Luigi de Laurentiis") jury will be headed by Alice Diop, who won the Best Debut Feature prize at the 79th Venice Film Festival with Saint Omer. She is joined by Moroccan director and actor Faouzi Bensaïdi, Argentinian filmmaker Laura Citarella, Italian Andrea De Sica, and American writer and director Chloe Domont.
Who else is being honored?
Beyond the jury awards, Venice's Board of Directors will present two Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement awards to director Liliana Cavani and actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai.
Hailed as "one of the most emblematic protagonists of the New Italian Cinema of the 1960s," Cavani made her Venice debut with 1965's Philippe Pétain: Processo a Vichy, which won the Golden Lion of San Marco for best documentary. The Italian film director and screenwriter will debut her new film, L'Ordine Del Tempo, out of competition at this year's festival. In a statement, Cavani said, "I am very happy and grateful to the Biennale di Venezia for this wonderful surprise."
Hong Kong's most celebrated actor, Leung is perhaps best known for starring in Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love (2000), for which he won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. The actor has also starred in three films that won Venice's Golden Lion: Hou Hsiao-hsien's City of Sadness (1989), Tran Anh Hung's Cyclo (1995), and Ang Lee's Lust, Caution (2007). "I am overwhelmed and honored with the news from the Biennale di Venezia," he said. "I hope to celebrate this award with all the filmmakers I have worked with. This award is a tribute to all of them as well."
About this year's poster:
The official poster of the 80th Venice International Film Festival (above) was created by Italian illustrator and author Lorenzo Mattotti, who took inspiration from "the tradition of cinema on the road."
Mattotti said of the art, "I played with graphics to represent new worlds to be explored through Cinema. We are convinced that there is a great future for Cinema that looks far ahead and ventures into new paths. Furthermore, this year the Exhibition is celebrating its 80th edition and we wanted to commemorate it in the number that appears on the license plate of an imaginary car. Naturally, many are the films that can be evoked by this image, such as Il sorpasso, Easy Rider or Thelma and Louise. May each of us find our own on the road movie. This is our wish for Cinema, may it go far and sprint towards the future. A future of exploration, in search of new frontiers: a colourful luminous Cinema."
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