Venice Film Festival Line Up Revealed

The upcoming 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival promises a stellar lineup of high-profile stars and anticipated films across various genres, consolidating its reputation as a premier platform for Oscar campaigns and top-tier cinematic debuts.

Among the luminaries gracing the event are Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Monica Bellucci, Michael Keaton, and Jenna Ortega. These A-list talents will be headlining a series of eagerly awaited films premiering at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido.

Notable contenders for top honors include "Joker 2: Folie à Deux," Todd Phillips’ sequel to his acclaimed "Joker" (which won the Golden Lion in 2019), starring Gaga and Phoenix. Also in contention is Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ work, "Queer," featuring Daniel Craig as the central character grappling with addiction in Mexico, alongside Drew Starkey.

Pedro Almodóvar, known for his distinctive style, presents his first English-language feature, "The Room Next Door," starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. This film marks Almodóvar’s follow-up to "Parallel Mothers," which premiered at Venice in 2021 and earned Penelope Cruz the fest’s best actress Volpi Cup.

With its blend of established names and emerging talents, the 81st Venice Film Festival is poised to be a glittering affair that not only celebrates cinema but also shapes the trajectory of the industry’s most prestigious awards season.

Below is the full list via Variety (posting live updates):

COMPETITION

“The Room Next Door,” Pedro Almodóvar (Spain)

“Campo di Battaglia,” Gianni Amelio (Italy) 

“Leurs Enfants Après Eux,” Ludovic Bouckherma, Zoran Boukherma (France)  

“The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet (U.K.) 

“The Quiet Son,” Delphine Coulin, Muriel Coulin (France) 

“Vermiglio,” Maura Delpero (Italy, France, Belgium) 

“Sicilian Letters,” Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza (Italy, France) 

“Queer,” Luca Guadagnino (Italy, U.S.) 

“Love,” Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway) 

“April,” Dea Kulumbegashvili (Georgia, France, Italy) 

“The Order,” Justin Kurzel (Canada) 

“Maria,” Pablo Larrain (Italy, Germany) 

“Trois Amies,” Emmanuel Mouret (France) 

“Kill the Jockey,” Luis Ortega (Argentina, Spain)

“Joker: Folie à Deux,” Todd Phillips (U.S.) 

“Babygirl,” Halina Reijn (U.S.) 

“I’m Still Here,” Walter Salles (Brazil, France) 

“Diva Futura,” Giulia Louise Steigerwalt (Italy) 

“Harvest,” Athina Rachel Tsangari (U.K., Germany, Greece, France, U.S.) 

“Youth – Homecoming,” Wang Bing (France, Luxembourg, Netherlands) 

“Stranger Eyes,” Yeo Siew Hua (Singapore, Taipei, France, U.S.) 

OUT OF COMPETITION — FICTION

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Tim Burton (U.S., U.K.) – Opening Film

“L’Orto Americano,” Pupi Avati (Italy) — Closing Film  

“Il Tempo Che Ci Vuole,” Francesca Comencini (Italy, France) 

“Phantosmia,” Lav Diaz (Philippines) 

“Maldoror,” Fabrice Du Welz (Belgium, France) 

“Broken Rage,” Takeshi Kitano (Japan) 

“Baby Invasion,” Harmony Korine (U.S.) 

“Cloud,” Kurosawa Kiyoshi (Japan) 

“Finalement,” Claude Lelouch (France)

“Wolfs,” Jon Watts (U.S.)  

“Se Posso Permettermi Capitolo II,” Marco Bellocchio (Italy) 

“Allégorie Citadine,” Alice Rohrwacher, JR (France) 

OUT OF COMPETITION – SERIES

“Disclaimer,” Alfonso Cuaron (U.K., U.S.) 

“The New Years,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen Del Amo, Sandra Romero, David Martín De Los Santos (Spain) 

“Families Like Ours,” Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Norway, Germany)

“M: Son of the Century,” Joe Wright (Italy, France)  

OUT OF COMPETITION – NON-FICTION

“Apocalypse in the Tropics,” Petra Costa (Brazil) 

“Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari,” Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti (Italy, Switzerland) 

“Why War,” Amos Gitai (Israel, France) 

“2073,” Asif Kapadia (U.K.) 

“One to One: John & Yoko,” Kevin Macdonald, Sam Rice Edwards (U.K.) 

“Separated,” Errol Morris (U.S., Mexico) 

“Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989,” Göran Hugo Olsson (Sweden, Finland, Denmark) 

“Russians at War,” Anastasia Trofimova (France, Canada) 

“Twst/Things We Said Today,” Andrei Ujica (France, Romania) 

“Songs of Slow Burning Earth,” Olha Zhurba (Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden) 

“Riefenstahl,” Andres Veiel (Germany) 

OUT OF COMPETITION — SPECIAL SCREENINGS

“Leopardi. Il Poeta Dell’Infinito” (Parts 1 and 2), Sergio Rubini (Italy) 

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003), Peter Weir (U.S.) 

“Beauty Is Not a Sin,” Nicolas Winding Refn (Italy, Denmark) 

HORIZONS

“Nonostante,” Valerio Mastandrea (Italy) – Opening Film

“Quiet Life,” Alexandros Avranas (France, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Estonia, Finland  

“Mon Inséparable,” Anne-Sophie Bailly (France) 

“Aïcha,” Mehdi Barsaoui (Tunisia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) 

“Happy Holidays,” Scandar Copti (Germany, Italy, Qatar) 

“Familia,” Francesco Costabile (Italy) 

“One of Those Days When Hemme Dies,” Murat Firatoglu (Turkey)

“Familiar Touch,” Sarah Friedland (U.S.) 

“Marco,” Jon Garraño, Aitor Arregi (Spain) 

“Carissa,” Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar (South Africa) 

“Wishing on a Star,” Péter Kerekes – Documentary – (Italy, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic) 

“Mistress Dispeller,” – Documentary – Elizabeth Lo (China) 

“The New Year That Never Came,” Bogdan Muresanu (Romania, Serbia) 

“Pooja, Sir,” Deepak Rauniyar (Nepal, U.S., Norway)

“Of Dogs and Men,” Dani Rosenberg (Israel, Italy) 

“Pavements,” Alex Ross Perry (U.S.)  

“Happyend,” Neo Sora (Japan, U.S.) 

“L’Attachement,” Carine Tardieu (France, Belgium)

“Diciannove,” Giovanni Tortorici (Italy, U.K.)  

HORIZONS EXTRA 

“September 5,” Tim Fehlbaum (Germany) 

“Vittoria,” Alessandro Cassignoli, Casey Kauffman (Italy) 

“Le Mohican,” Frédéric Farrucci (France) 

“Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo,” Khaled Mansour (Egypt, Saudi Arabia) 

“La Storia Del Frank e Della Nina,” Paola Randi (Italy, Switzerland) 

“The Witness,” Nader Saeivar (Germany, Austria) 

“After Party,” Vojtech Strakaty (Czech Republic) 

“Edge of Night,” Türker Süer (Germany, Turkey) 

“King Ivory,” John Swab (U.S.) 

Drop a comment with what you are looking forward to the most.