Earlier this morning, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival Alberto Barbera announced the official lineup for the festival’s 80th edition. During the press conference, it was said other than the previously announced Opening Night Film “Challengers” (which was replaced by “Comandante”), no other U.S. selections would be pulled from premiering at this year’s festival due to the ongoing WGA & SAF-AFTRA strikes. There are 82 feature films and 14 short films. Twenty-nine of those films are directed by women representing 30% of the lineup. Our very own Josh Parham will attend this year on behalf of Next Best Picture. The festival runs from Wednesday, August 30th – Saturday, September 9th, 2023.
COMPETITION
“Adagio” – Stefano Sollima (Italy)
“Comandante” – Edoardo De Angelis (Italy) – Opening Film
“Dogman” – Luc Besson (France)
“El Conde” – Pablo Larrain (Chile)
“Enea” – Pietro Castellitto (Italy)
“Evil Does Not Exist” – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Japan)
“Ferrari” – Michael Mann (U.S.)
“Finally Dawn” – Saverio Costanzo (Italy)
“The Green Border” – Agnieszka Holland (Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium)
“Holly” – Fien Torch (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France)
“Hors-Saison” – Stéphane Brizé (France)
“Io Capitano” – Matteo Garrone (Italy, Belgium)
“The Killer” – David Fincher (U.S.)
“The Beast” – Bertrand Bonello (France, Canada)
“Lubo” – Giorgio Diritti (Italy)
“Maestro” – Bradley Cooper (U.S.)
“Memory” – Michel Franco (Mexico, U.S.)
“Origin” – Ava DuVernay (U.S.)
“Poor Things” – Yorgos Lanthimos (U.K.)
“Priscilla” – Sofia Coppola (U.S., Italy)
“The Promised Land” – Nikolaj Arcel (Denmark, Germany, Sweden)
“The Theory of Everything” – Timm Kröger (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
“Woman Of” – Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert (Poland, Sweden)
HORIZONS
“A Cielo Abierto” – Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga (Mexico, Spain)
“Behind the Mountains” – Mohamed Ben Attia (Tunisia, Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
“City of Wind” – Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir (France, Mongolia, Portugal, The Netherlands)
“Dormitory” – Nehir Tuna (Turkey, Germany, France)
“El Paraiso” – Enrico Maria Artale (Italy)
“En Attendant La Nuit” – Céline Rouzet (France, Belgium)
“Explanation for Everything” – Gábor Reisz (Hungary, Slovacchia)
“The Featherweight” – Robert Colony (U.S.)
“Gasoline Rainbow” – Bill Ross, Turner Ross (U.S.)
“Heartless” – Nara Normande, Tião (Brazil, France, Italy)
“Hesitation Wound” – Selman Nacar (Turkey, Spain, Romania, France)
“Housekeeping for Beginners” – Goran Stolevski (North Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo)
“Invelle” – Simone Massi (Italy, Switzerland)
“Paradise is Burning” – Mika Gustavson (Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Finland)
“The Red Suitcase” – Fidel Devkota (Nepal, Sri Lanka)
“Shadow of Fire” – Shinya Tsukamoto (Japan)
“Tatami” – Guy Native, Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Georgia, U.S.)
“Una Sterminata Domenica” – Alain Parroni (Italy, Germany, Ireland)
HORIZONS EXTRA
“Bota Jonë” – Luàna Barjami (Kosovo, France)
“Day of the Fight” – Jack Huston (U.S.)
“Felicità” – Micaela Ramazzotti (Italy)
“Forever Forever” – Anna Buryachkova (Ukraine, The Netherlands)
“In the Land of Saints and Sinners” – Robert Lorenz (Ireland)
“L’Homme D’Argille” – Anaïs Tellene (France)
“Pet Shop Boys” – Olmo Schnabel (Italy, U.K. Mexico)
“El Rapto” – Daniela Goggi (Argentina, U.S.)
“Stolen” – Karan Tejpal (India)
OUT OF COMPETITION – SERIES
“D’argent et de sang” (Episodes 1-12) – Xavier Giannoli, Fredéric Planchon (France, Belgium)
“I Know Your Soul” (Episodes 1-2) – Created by Jasmila Zbanic and Damir Ibrahimovic, Directed by Alen Drjević and Nermin Hamzagic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
OUT OF COMPETITION — FICTION
“Aggro Dr1ft” – Harmony Korine (U.S.)
“The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” – William Friedkin
“Coup de Chance” – Woody Allen (France, U.K.)
“DAAAAAALI!” – Quentin Dupieux (France)
“Hit Man” – Richard Linklater (U.S.)
“L’Ordine Del Tempo” – Liliana Cavani (Italy)
“Making of” – Cédric Kahn (France)
“The Palace” – Roman Polanski (Poland, France)
“The Penitent – A Rational Man” – Luca Barbareschi (Italy)
“Snow Leopard” – Pema Tseden (China)
“Society of the Snow” – J.A. Bayona (Spain, Uruguay, Chile) – Closing Film
“Vivants” – Alix Delaporte (France, Belgium)
“Welcome to Paradise” – Leonardo di Constanzo – Short Film
“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” – Wes Anderson (U.S.) – Short Film
OUT OF COMPETITION – NON-FICTION
“Amor” – Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri (Italy, Lithuania)
“Enzo Jannacci Vengo Anch’io” – Giorgio Verdelli (Italy)
“Frente A Guernica” (Uncut Version) – Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi (Italy)
“Hollywoodgate” – Ibrahim Nash’at (Germany, U.S.)
“Menus Plaisirs” – Frederik Wiseman (France)
“Ryuichi Sakamoto – Opus” – Neo Sora (Japan)
Damien Chazelle (“Babylon“) will be the president of this year’s jury overseeing the films in competition. He will be joined by Saleh Bakri (“Wajib”), Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog “), Mia Hansen-Løve (“Bergman Island “), Gabriele Mainetti (“Freaks Out”), Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees Of Inisherin “), Santiago Mitre (“Argentina, 1985 “), Laura Poitras (“All The Beauty And The Bloodshed “), & Shu Qi (“The Assassin”).
What do you think of the lineup? Is there anything that jumps out at you as something you want to see? Which film’s inclusion/exclusion surprised you the most? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.
