UPDATE: The 73rd Venice Film Festival has set a strong lineup of world premieres including anticipated films from such helmers as Denis Villeneuve, Pablo Larrain, Derek Cianfrance, Tom Ford, Terrence Malick — and in an out of competition slot, the latest from Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge. They join the previously announced opener, Damien Chazelle’s La La Land. The festival has been dedicated to two recently deceased directors: Michael Cimino and Abbas Kiarostami.
Artistic Director Alberto Barbera has had an impressive run over his past few outings curating the Lido event which increasingly acts as a solid primer/launch pad for awards season (think the world premieres of Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight and more). This year, Barbera whittled down 1,468 features to a selection of 56 total, including 20 in competition.
The first few days of Venice can be expected to be frontloaded with the splashier titles which then make their way to Toronto and/or Telluride, and often onto the awards circuit. The glamourous, yet accessible, fest is a key chance for studios to get conversations started and films and talent in front of the world media. Doing double-duty this year, Amy
Adams stars in both Ford’s Nocturnal Animals (Focus) and Villeneuve’s Arrival (Paramount) — both of which were the subject of mega-deals in recent Cannes markets (see below). Natalie Portman will be seen as Jacqueline Kennedy in Chilean helmer Larrain’s Jackie, and stars in Rebecca Zlotowski’s out of competition Planetarium with Lily-Rose Depp. In Cannes, Larrain told me Jackie would not be a classic biopic.
Cianfrance’s The Light Between Oceans (Disney), a romantic drama from producer David Heyman, will bring out Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Venice vets, Fassbender took the Best Actor Volpi Cup for Shame in 2011 while Vikander went on to an Oscar for last year’s Venice world premiere pic The Danish Girl.
Malick is marking a return to the Lido with Voyage Of Time (Broad Green), a documentary described as a celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time from its start to its final collapse. A sort of companion piece to The Tree Of Life, there are two versions: a 40-minute Imax take with narration by Brad Pitt, and a 35mm feature-length pic voiced by Cate Blanchett. Venice is screening the latter. Malick’s 2012 pic To The Wonder screened in Venice in what was Barbera’s first selection since returning after a several-year hiatus.
Hacksaw Ridge marks Gibson’s first time in Venice and should boost the anticipated WW II drama’s launch into the kudos corridor. Lionsgate has set a domestic November 4 release for the film which Deadline has previously reported tested through the roof with equal parts drama, action and faith-based nuances.
Also out of competition are Philippe Falardeau’s boxing movie The Bleeder, with Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts, and Antoine Fuqua’s Toronto opener The Magnificent Seven (Sony/MGM), which will close Venice on September 10.
The U.S. is well-represented across the main sections, while big name European filmmakers include Wim Wenders with Les Beaux Jours D’Aranjuez; François Ozon and Frantz; and Emir Kusturica with On The Milky Road. Veteran Kusturica won Venice’s Luigi De Laurentiis prize for best first film with 1981’s Do You Remember Dolly Bell?. Cannes regular Amat Escalante is in competition with La Region Salvaje from Mexico while the Philippines’ Lav Diaz is coming to the Lido for the third time, bringing The Woman Who Left.
Lifetime Achievement Golden Lions are set for Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jerzy Skolimowski. Among other highlights this year is a tribute to Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Meledandri on September 5. An In Conversation event will be held with a screening of footage from Sing which is world premiering in Toronto the next week. Current box office hit The Secret Life Of Pets will screen in full; it hits Italian cinemas in October.
See below the original post for the full list of films in the main sections. Venice runs August 31-September 10.
PREVIOUS: The roster for the 73rd Venice Film Festival is being unveiled this morning in Rome. At a press conference just getting underway, Artistic Director Alberto Barbera will announce the titles that make up this year’s edition of the world’s oldest fest which takes place on the Lido beginning August 31. Venice kicks off the early fall triumvirate which also includes Toronto and Telluride, and which roundly offers up awards season contenders.
Barbera has proved highly prescient over the past four years since he returned to the Lido event, scoring such eventual Oscar winners as Gravity, Birdman and Spotlight in their world premieres. As previously announced, this year’s opener is the Damien Chazelle-directed La La Land from Lionsgate. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star in the in-competition musical. Sam Mendes is president of the jury.
No other films have been confirmed, however we highly expect to see Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals announced today for a vaporetto to the Sala Grande, as well as Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival.
Both of those pictures were the subject of major deals in Cannes in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Focus secured world rights to Nocturnal in a $20M acquisition last year, while Paramount set a then Cannes record the previous year, spending $20M for U.S., Canada and China rights to Arrival, which was known at the time as Story Of Your Life. Amy Adams stars in both pics. Joining her in Ford’s thriller are Jake Gyllenhaal and Isla Fisher. Jeremy Renner also stars in the sci-fi Arrival.
We’ll know more in just a little while with Barbera likely to have some surprises in store, so check back for updates…
OPENING NIGHT FILM
La La Land, dir: Damien Chazelle (in competition)
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
The Magnificent Seven, dir: Antoine Fuqua (out of competition)
VENICE 73 COMPETITION
The Bad Batch, dir: Ana Lily Amirpour (U.S.)
Une Vie, dir: Stéphane Brizé (France/Belgium)
La La Land, dir: Damien Chazelle (U.S.)
The Light Between Oceans, dir: Derek Cianfrance (U.S./Australia/New Zealand)
El Ciudadano Ilustre, dirs: Mariano Cohn, Gaston Duprat (Argentina/Spain)
Spira Mirabilis, dirs: Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti (Italy/Switzerland)
The Woman Who Left, dir: Lav Diaz (Philippines)
La Region Salvaje, dir: Amat Escalante (Mexico)
Nocturnal Animals, dir: Tom Ford (U.S.)
Piuma, dir: Roan Johnson (Italy)
Paradise, dir: Andrei Konchalovsky (Russia/Germany)
Brimstone, dir: Martin Koolhoven (Netherlands/Germany/Belgium/France/UK/Sweden)
On The Milky Road, dir: Emir Kusturica (Serbia/UK/U.S.)
Jackie, dir: Pablo Larrain (U.S./Chile)
Voyage Of Time, dir: Terrence Malick (U.S./Germany)
El Cristo Ciego, dir: Christopher Murray (Chile/France)*
Frantz, dir: François Ozon (France)
Questi Giorni, dir: Giuseppe Piccioni (Italy)
Arrival, dir: Denis Villeneuve (U.S.)
Les Beaux Jours D’Aranjuez, dir: Wim Wenders (France/Germany)
OUT OF COMPETITION
The Young Pope (episodes 1&2), dir: Paolo Sorrentino (Italy/France/Spain/U.S.)
The Bleeder, dir: Philippe Falardeau (U.S./Canada)
The Magnificent Seven, dir: Antoine Fuqua (U.S.)
Hacksaw Ridge, dir: Mel Gibson (U.S./Australia)
The Journey, dir: Nick Hamm (UK)
A Jamais, dir: Benoît Jacquot (France/Portugal)
Gantz: O, dir: Yasushi Kawamura (Japan)
The Age Of Shadows, dir: Jee-woon Kim (Korea)
Monte, dir: Amir Naderi (Italy/U.S./France)
Tommaso, dir: Kim Rossi Stuart (Italy)
Documentaries
Our War, dirs: Bruno Chiaravalloti (Italy/U.S.)
I Called Him Morgan, dir: Kasper Collin (Sweden/U.S.)
One More Time With Feeling, dir: Andrew Dominik (UK)
Austerlitz, dir: Sergei Loznitsa (Germany)
Assalto Al Cielo, dir: Francesco Munzi (Italy)
Safari, dir: Ulrich Seidl (Austria/Denmark)
American Anarchist, dir: Charlie Siskel (U.S.)
Planetarium, dir: Rebecca Zlotowski (France/Belgium)
VENICE HORIZONS
Tarde Para La Ira, dir: Raul Arevalo (Spain)
King Of The Belgians, dirs: Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth (Belgium/Netherlands/Bulgaria)
Through The Wall, dir: Rama Burshtein (Israel)
Liberami, dir: Federica Di Giacomo (Italy/France)
Big Big World, dir: Reha Erdem (Turkey)
Gukoroku, dir: Kei Ishikawa (Japan)
Maudite Poutine, dir: Karl Lemieux (Canada)
Sao Jorge, dir: Marco Martins (Portugal/France)
Dawson City: Frozen Time, dir: Bill Morrison (U.S./France)
Réparer Les Vivants, dir: Katel Quillévéré (France/Belgium)
White Sun, dir: Deepak Rauniyar (Nepal/U.S./Qatar/Netherlands)
Malaria, dir: Parviz Shahbazi (Iran)
Kekszakallu, dir: Gaston Solnicki (Argentina)*
Home, dir: Fien Troch (Belgium)
Die Einsiedler, dir: Ronny Trocker (Germany/Austria)*
Il Piu Grande Sogno, dir: Michele Viannucci (Italy)*
Boys In The Trees, dir: Nicholas Verso (Australia)*
Bitter Money, dir: Bing Wang (Hong Kong/France)
Dark Night, dir: Tim Sutton (U.S.) – Special screening, out of competition
CINEMA NEL GIARDINO
Inseparables, dir: Marcos Carnevale (Argentina)
Franca: Chaos And Creation, dir: Francesco Carrozzini (Italy/U.S.)
In Dubious Battle, dir: James Franco (U.S.)
The Net, dir: Kim Ki-duk (Korea)
L’Estate Addosso, dir: Gabriele Muccino (Italy)
The Secret Life Of Pets, dir: Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney (U.S.)
Robinu, dir: Michele Santoro (Italy)
My Art, dir: Laurie Simmons (U.S.)
BIENNALE COLLEGE CINEMA
Ears, dir: Alessandro Aronadio (Italy)
Hotel Salvation, dir: Shubhashish Bhutiani (India)
One Sister, dirs: Sofia Brokenshire, Verena Kuri (Argentina)
La Soledad, dir: Jorge Thielen-Armand (Venezuela)
VENICE CLASSICS
The Nights Of Zayandeh-Rood, dir: Moshen Makhmalbaf (Iran 1990)
Manhattan, dir: Woody Allen (U.S. 1979)
Pretty Poison, dir: Noel Black (U.S. 1968)
Money, dir: Robert Bresson (France/Switzerland 1983)
Everybody Go Home!, dir: Luigi Comencini (Italy/France 1960)
The Man With The Balloons, dir: Marco Ferreri (Italy/France 1965)
The Brat, dir: John Ford (U.S. 1931)
The Great Sacrifice, dir: Veit Harlan (Germany 1942)
Twentieth Century, dir: Howard Hawks (U.S. 1934)
Legend Of The Mountain, dir: King Hu (Hong Kong 1979)
The Ondekoza, dir: Tai Kato (Japan 1979)
Seven Samurai, dir: Akira Kurosawa (Japan 1954)
An American Werewolf In London, dir: John Landis (UK 1981)
Le Voleur, dir: Louis Malle (France/Italy 1965)
Dark Eyes, dir: Nikita Michalkov (Italy/USSR 1987)
The Battle Of Algiers, dir: Gillo Pontecorvo (Italy/Algeria 1966)
1848, dir: Dino Risi (Italy 1948)
Scent Of A Woman, dir: Dino Risi (Italy 1974)
Dawn Of The Dead (European cut), dir: George Romero (U.S./Italy 1978)
Stalker, dir: Andrej Tarkovskij (USSR 1979)
The City Stands Trial, dir: Luigi Zampa (Italy 1952)
VENICE CLASSICS DOCUMENTARIES
Events In A Cloud Chamber, dir: Ashim Ahluwalia (India)
The Man Came Along – A Conversation With Ermanno Olmi, dir: Alessandro Bignami (Italy)
Bozzetto Non Troppo, dir: Marco Bonfanti (Italy)
Perche Sono Un Genio! Lorenza Mazzetti, dirs: Stefano Della Casa, Francesco Frisari (Italy)
Along For The Ride, dir: Nick Ebeling (U.S.)
A Journey Through 3D Cinema – A Vintage Tale, dir: Jesus Garces Lambert (Italy)
Water And Sugar. Carlo Di Palma, The Colors Of Life, dir: Fariborz Kamkari (Italy)
David Lynch The Art Of Life, dirs: Jon Nguyen, Neergaard Holm, Rick Barnes (U.S/Denmark)
Cinema Futures, dir: Michael Palm (Austria)
The Graduation, dir: Claire Simon (France/Beligum)
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.