The official lineup for the 81st Venice International Film Festival was announced yesterday, and it’s shaping up to be a star-studded affair. This is especially exciting after last year’s event, which was largely sans actors due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, a labor dispute that significantly impacted the festival’s lineup and atmosphere.
For the last few weeks, pundits and film lovers have debated which films would land a spot on the coveted lineup and, in turn, could become major awards players. After all, the films that screen at Venice often go on to awards success later in the year – last year’s slate included Oscar nominations and/or wins for Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Matteo Garrone’s “Io Capitano,” Pablo LarraÃn’s “El Conde,” Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” and J.A. Bayona’s “Society of the Snow.” This year’s festival includes many returning names, such as LarraÃn, known for his intense character studies, Pedro Almodóvar, a master of melodrama, Luca Guadagnino, a visual storyteller, and Todd Phillips, a versatile director. Their films could potentially shape the upcoming awards season.
At first glance, the lineup didn’t come with quite as many surprises as most were hoping for, mainly because the 2024 TIFF lineup provided several clues. But regardless, this year’s festival will be jam-packed with stars that audiences are dying to see. I would have liked to have seen more female directors on the lineup – there are seven in Competition representing six films. It’s slightly up from previous years, but it shows more work still needs to be done. Additionally, the absence of Black directors in this year’s lineup is truly disappointing and unacceptable, highlighting the need for more diversity in the film industry.
Whether you loved or hated “Joker,” there’s no denying that Phillips’ fantasy musical sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” is one of the hottest items on this lineup – Phillips took home the Golden Lion in 2019. We also got a better look at the film on Tuesday with a new trailer. Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as Arthur Fleck, with Lady Gaga joining the cast as Harley Quinn, along with newcomers Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener and a returning Zazie Beetz. Once it was announced that this sequel would be a musical, the moans and groans from the internet could be heard everywhere. However, I can’t say I’m not intrigued by what I’ve seen thus far. Phoenix has the goods when it comes to this character – he won the Oscar for Best Actor, after all – and it seems like Lady Gaga can match his freak with her equally bright and smeared clown makeup. Additionally, the cinematography looks spectacular, and the fantastical production design looks fresh, so I will be keeping my eyes out for how all these elements come into play.
Perhaps the film I’m most looking forward to is “Babygirl” by Halina Reijn. Her English-language directorial debut “Bodies Bodies Bodies” took on a cult status among Gen-Z social media users for its outrageous humor and line readings, notably Rachel Sennott’s “Your parents are upper middle class.” “Babygirl,” on the other hand, seems like a much more mature tale about a steamy love affair between Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson’s characters, likely more along the lines of her 2019 directorial debut “Instinct.” This film shot to the top of my must-watch list not just because of its talented cast, which includes Antonio Banderas, but because it was a pleasant surprise to see it on the lineup after it wasn’t being talked about as a possible lineup contender.
Getting a new Guadagnino film is always a treat, but having two in one year is a true blessing. “Queer” is another highly anticipated film Competition from the Italian director, his second collaboration with writer Justin Kuritzkes (“Challengers“), starring Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman and Lesley Manville. Craig has led a few franchise films – five “James Bond” movies and the ongoing “Knives Out” series – so it’ll be nice to see him take on a meatier role that this historical romance promises as an expat battling addiction and living in Mexico City in the 1940s. Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said Craig gives “the performance of his life” in the film.
Almodóvar will showcase his first feature-length film in English at this year’s festival, starring Academy Award winners Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. He teamed up with Swinton for his first English-language short film, “The Human Voice,” also a Venice premiere, and it delighted audiences and left them wanting more. Well, I don’t think we could have asked for better than this team-up. The film is about an imperfect mother and war reporter, played by Swinton, and a spiteful daughter who are estranged due to a misunderstanding. Ingrid, a novelist played by Moore, is described as the keeper of their pain and bitterness. There’s drama and two incredible actresses in the film, so this seems like it’s a Prime Almodóvar joint. The film also stars John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola, Juan Diego Botto, Raúl Arévalo, Victoria Luengo, Alex Hogh Andersen, Esther McGregor, Alvise Rigo and Melina Matthews.
Other films in Competition could make for very special moments when they arrive at the Lido. Pablo LarraÃn is back with another female-led film, “Maria,” starring Academy Award winner Angelia Jolie. Following the critical acclaim of “Jackie” and “Spencer,” which earned stars Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart Oscar nominations, we can’t help but anticipate the same for Jolie, who plays renowned opera singer Maria Callas. Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” his first film since 2018’s “Vox Lux,” will screen in 70mm and clocks in at an epic 215 minutes long. It’s a hefty runtime, but that screening experience, plus its stacked cast (Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn, Stacy Martin, Nivola), make it all worth it. The film tells the story of visionary architect László Toth (Brody) and his wife Erzsébet (Jones), who flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy. Soon, however, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious and wealthy client. Given that Brody won an Oscar for the Holocaust drama “The Pianist,” I’m eager to see him dive into this post-WWII story.
Out of Competition also has some exciting titles. Weeks ago, the festival announced that Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will open the festival. It may have been an odd choice at the start, but maybe there’s a lot of potential with this film, which has Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara reprising their roles from the iconic 1988 film. As a big fan of the original, I’m really looking forward to returning to this wacky world and, based on the trailer, exploring more of the Neitherworld and Beetlejuice’s usual shenanigans. Plus, we get new characters from Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.
Jon Watts’ “Wolfs” starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt as two lone fixers forced to work together, will also premiere at the festival. When it comes to star power, these two have the goods, and it’ll be exciting to see them back together after their work in the “Ocean’s” trilogy and “Burn After Reading.” Other films rounding out the Out of Competition section include “Cloud” by Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who always has a good thriller up his sleeve, and “Baby Invasion” by Harmony Korine, someone who never fails to surprise viewers with his out-there style.
In addition to the many feature films, I hope there’s also time to catch some documentaries from this lineup. Many of them tackle a number of important topics, including the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts, the political and environmental landscape, and migration.
There are plenty more films to discuss, and I hope I get to see them and share my thoughts with you all. Until then, I’m looking forward to catching up with and revisiting many of the directors’ previous works.
What do you think of the films announced for the Venice International Film Festival? Which films do you think will emerge as Oscar contenders? How does this year’s lineup compare to last year’s? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on Next Best Picture’s X account and be sure to check out our latest Oscar predictions here.
