Pedro Almodovar, Pablo Larrain, Luca Guadagnino and more return to the 2024 Venice Film Festival
Facing them will be Joker: Folie à Deux or Their Children After Them.
The 81st edition of Venice Film Festival will take place from August 28 to September 7, 2024, and as planned, it will open to the sound of Harry Belafonte with the out-of-competition screening of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Michael Keaton, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara are expected in their finest striped costumes for the occasion. A crazy and gothic atmosphere is guaranteed with this sequel to Tim Burton’s cult comedy. The director is making his big comeback after receiving the Golden Lion for his entire body of work in 2007. Succeeding him this year, the actress from Alien, Avatar And Gorillas in the MistSigourney Weaver.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will not be the only big-budget production at this festival. Joining the competition is Gotham’s most smiling villain, the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix), and his partner in crime, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) with Joker: Madness for Two. In 2019, its predecessor, also directed by Todd Philipps, had hit the mark, leaving with an eight-minute standing ovation and the Golden Lion. Will this sequel be able to seduce the jurors?
Among the 21 feature films selected in competition, three filmmakers are making their comeback. Absent from the festivities last year after Challengers was replaced by Order by Eduardo De Angelis, Luca Guadagnigno comes back with Queer – a romance which as the title indicates will be LGBTQ+ and will feature Daniel Craig.
After winning the award for best screenplay last year for The count – a strange fiction in which the Chilean dictator Pinochet was a vampire, Pablo Larrain is back in competition with the highly anticipated Maria. Angelina Jolie plays opera singer Maria Callas. Opposite him will be Pedro Almodavar, also a regular at the festival, with The Room Next Door. Tilda Swinton is back under his direction and gives the reply to Julianne Moore. The director had not returned since Parallel mothers presented in 2021.
France is not far behind in the competition! Representing France, Three Friends, Playing with Fire And Their children after them by the Boukherma brothers (with Paul Kircher, Angelina Woreth, Ludivine Sagnier, Sayyid El Alami and Gilles Lellouche). Out of competition, will also be screened Eventually by Claude Lelouch.
The juries will include Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, Guiseppe Tornatore, Abderrahmane Sissako, Kleber Mendonça Fihlo, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland – whose latest feature film Green Border had received the Special Jury Prize at the 2023 Venice Film Festival and James Gray. All of this, chaired by actress Isabelle Huppert. Their mission will be to decide between the films in competition and to present the trophies at the end of the festival.
Here is the complete selection of the Venice Film Festival 2024.
Films in competition :
The Room Next Door, by Pedro Almodovar
Battaglia Field by Gianni Amelio
Their children after them by Zoran Boukherma and Ludovic Boukherma
The Brutalist, by Brady Corbet
Play with fire by Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin
Vermiglio by Maura Delpero
Iddu (Sicilian Letters) by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza
Queer by Luca Guadagnino
Love by Dag Johan Haugerud
April by Dea Kulumbegashvili
The Order by Justin Kurzel
Maria by Pablo Larrain
Three Friends by Emmanuel Mouret
Kill the Jockey by Luis Ortega
Joker: Madness for Twoby Todd Phillips
Babygirl by Halina Reijn
Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m still here) by Walter Salles
Diva Futura by Giulia Louise Steigerwalt
Harvest by Athina Rachel Tsangari
Qing Chun Gui (Youth-Homecoming) by Bing Wang
Stranger Eyes by Siew Hua Yeo
Outside of competition, several films and series are also on the program :
Fictions :
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, by Tim Burton (opening)
The American Orto by Pupi Avati
The Time I Wantby Franscesca Comencini
Phantosmiaby Lav Diaz
Maldoror by Fabrice Du Welz
Broken Rage by Takeshi Kitano
Baby Invasion by Harmony Korine
Cloud by Kurosawa Kiyoshi
Eventually by Claude Lelouch
Wolfs by Jon Watts
Se Posso Permettermi Capitolo II, by Marco Bellochio
City Allegory by Alice Rohrwacher, and JR
Series :
Pet Som Vore (Families Like Ours) by Thomas Vintergberg (episode 1 to 7)
M- The Child of the Secoloby Joe Wright (episode 1 to 8)
Alfonso Cuaron Disclaimer
New Years by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Documentaries :
Apocaljpse Nos Tropicos (Apocalypse in the tropics) by Petra Costa
Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari, by Massimo d’Anolfi and Martina Parenti
Why War, by Amos Gitai
2073by Asif Kapadia
One to One: John & Yokoby Kevin MacDonald and Sam Rice-Edwards
Separatedby Errol Morris
Israel Palestina På Svensk TV 1958-1989 (Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989), by Göran Hugo Olsson
Russians at Warby Anastasia Trofimova
Twst/Things We said today, by Andrei Ujică
Pisni Zemli, Shcho Povilno (Songs of Slow Burning Earth), from Olha Zhubra
Rieffenstahl, by Andres Veiel
Special screenings :
Beauty Is Not a Sin by Nicolas Winding Refn
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World by Peter Weir
Leopardi. He poeted the infinite by Sergio Rubini
In the Orizzonti selection :
Orizzonti Extra :
Victoria, by Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman
King Ivory by John Swab
After Party by Vojetch Strakaty
The Mohican by Frédéric Farruci
Edge of Night by Turker Süer
The Story of Frank and Ninaby Paola Randi
Al Bash An Manfaz I Khoroug Al Sayed Rambo (Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo) by Khaled Mansour
September 5 by Tim Fehlbaum
Shahed (The Witness) by Nader Saeivar
Orizzonti Short Films :
Neredeyse Kesinlikle Yanlis (Almost Certaintly False) by Cansu Baydar
Shadowby Rand Beiruty
The Burattino and the Whaleby Roberto Catani
Duyao Mao (The Poison Cat) from Tian Guan
Nime Baz, Nime Basteh (Ajar) by Atefeh Jaladi
Three Keenings by Oliver McGoldrick
Minha Mae E Uma Vaca (My Mother is a cow) by Moara Passoni
Rene Goes to Warby Mariachiara Pernisa, Luca Ferri and Morgan Menegazzo
James by Andres Rodriguez
O, Runar Runarsson,
Who Loves the Sunby Arshia Shakiba
Moon LakeJeannie Sui Wonders
Marion by Joe Weiland and Finn Constantine
Venice Classics – Documentaries :
Miyazaki, the spirit of natureby Leo Favier
I will revenge this world with love S. Paradjanovby Zara Jian
The cinema of Jean-Pierre Léaudby Cyril Leuthy
From Darkness to Lightby Michael Lurie and Eric Friedler
More information in our special Venice Film Festival report
