Cannes may be right around the corner, but the fall film festivals are also fast approaching. Earlier this morning, it was announced Academy Award winner Damien Chazelle (“Babylon“) will oversee the competition jury for the 80th annual Venice International Film Festival including who walks away with the coveted Golden Lion prize (last year’s winner was Laura Poitras’ “All The Beauty And The Bloodshed“). Chazelle is no stranger to Venice as he had “La La Land” premiere there in 2016, followed by “First Man” in 2018.
Chazelle commented, “For ten days each year, this city of the arts, of Tintoretto and Titian and Veronese, becomes a city of cinema, and I am humbled and delighted to be invited to lead this year’s jury. I can’t wait to discover a new crop of great films at the 80th Venice Film Festival.”
That’s not all, though. The festival also announced Venice also announced “Saint Omer” director Alice Diop would lead the jury panel for the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Film. At the same time, Italy’s Jonas Carpignano (“A Chiara“) lead the jury for the Horizons section of this year’s festival.
“What a great honor, what a great joy, to have been chosen to preside over the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film at a festival that welcomed me and offered me so much last year,” said Diop. “I am happy to pass on the baton this year and to work to see a new voice emerge in the cinematic landscape that the Venice Festival has always had at sought to renew.”
Carpignano stated, “Year after year, the rich and bold selection of Horizons offers us a deep immersion in the world of cinema. I can’t wait to live the emotions and to experience the diverse realities we will come to know in the theatres on the Lido. To have the opportunity to see some of the finest films of the year in one of the most beautiful places in the world is something truly special.”
It may be a while before we receive the official lineup for this year’s Venice Film Festival. Predicted films expected to make their world premieres there include Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things,” Sofia Coppolla’s “Priscilla” and more. This year’s Venice Film Festival will run from August 30th until September 9th.
Are you excited for the 2023 Venice Film Festival? Are you planning to attend the festival this year? Which films do you think will be announced? Please let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.
