After its restricted but still strong 77th edition, the Venice Film Festival is back with a vengeance, with what might be its most exciting line-up in years – a far cry from the bizarre announcements of this year’s TIFF (which boasts… “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” of all things). This morning in Rome, the line-up of the forthcoming 78th edition was announced in full, ahead of its planned opening on 1 September.
READ MORE: Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Parallel Mothers’ Will Open The 2021 Venice Film Festival
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho will be the President of the Jury, marking the first time a South Korean director has been picked to lead the Lido’s top jury, which includes last year’s Golden Lion winner Chloé Zhao, Canadian actress Sarah Gadon, British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, Belgian actress Virginie Efira, Italian director and screenwriter Saverio Costanzo, and Romanian-German documentary director Alexander Nanau.
There are some exciting titles both in and out of competition – already announced are Pedro Almodovar’s “Parallel Mothers” and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” her first feature film as director since 2009’s “Bright Star.” Another highlight is Paul Schrader’s Oscar Isaac-starring “The Card Counter,” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feature directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter.” Out of competition is just as exciting, with Denis Villeneuve’s much delayed and highly-anticipated adaptation of “Dune,” as well as Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho,” the director’s first film at the fest. This year, one of two Ridley Scott films, the insane hair extravaganza of “The Last Duel” sits alongside the pulpy thrills of David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Kills.” At the fringes but no less notable is virtuoso anime director Masaaki Yuasa’s new, wild project “Inu-Oh.”
READ MORE: Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To Watch
You can read the full Venice 2021 line-up below:
Competition
Parallel Mothers – Pedro Almodovar
Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon – Ana Lily Amirpour
Un Autre Monde – Stéphane Brizé
The Power Of The Dog – Jane Campion
America Latina – Damiano D’Innocenzo, Fabio D’Innocenzo
L’Evénement – Audrey Diwan
Competencia Oficial – Gaston Duprat, Mariano Cohn
Il Buco – Michelangelo Frammartino
Sundown – Michel Franco
Illusions Perdues – Xavier Giannoli
The Lost Daughter – Maggie Gyllenhaal
Spencer – Pablo Larrain
Freaks Out – Gabriele Mainetti
Qui Rido Io – Mario Martone
On The Job: The Missing 8 – Erik Matti
Leave No Traces – Jan P Matuszynski
Captain Volkonogov Escaped – Natasha Merkulova, Aleksey Chupov
The Card Counter – Paul Schrader
The Hand Of God – Paolo Sorrentino
La Caja – Lorenzo Vigas
Reflection – Valentyn Vasyanovych
Out of Competition – Fiction
Il Bambino Nascosto – Roberto Ando
Les Choses Humaines – Yvan Attal
Ariaferma – Leonardo Di Costanzo
Halloween Kills – David Gordon Green
La Scuola Cattolica – Stefano Mordini
Old Henry – Potsy Ponciroli
The Last Duel – Ridley Scott
Dune – Denis Villeneuve
Last Night In Soho – Edgar Wright
Out of Competition – Non Fiction
Life Of Crime 1984-2020 – Jon Alpert
Tranchées – Loup Bureau
Viaggio Nel Crepuscolo – Augusto Contento
Republic Of Silence – Diana El Jeiroudi
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song – Daniel Geller, Dayna Goldfine
Deandré Storio Di Un Impiegato – Roberta Lena
Django & Django – Luca Rea
Ezio Bosso. Le Cose Che Restano – Giorgio Verdelli
Special Screenings
Le 7 Giornate Di Bergamo – Simona Ventura
La Biennale Di Venezia: Il Cinema Al Tempo Del Covid – Andrea Segre
Horizons Extra
Land Of Dreams – Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari
Costa Brava – Mounia Akl
Mama, I’m Home – Vladimir Bitokov
Ma Nuit – Antoinette Boulat
La Ragazza Ha Volato – Wilma Labate
7 Prisoners – Alexandre Moratto
The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic – Teemu Nikki
La Macchina Delle Immagini Di Alfredo C – Roland Sejko
Orizzonti
Les Promesses – Thomas Kruithof
Atlantide – Yuri Ancarani
Miracle – Bogdan George Apetri
Pilgrims – Laurynas Bareisa
Il Paradiso Del Pavone – Laura Bispuri
The Falls – Chung Mong-Hong
El Hoyo En La Cerca – Joaquin Del Paso
Amira – Mohamed Diab
A Plein Temps – Eric Gravel
107 Mothers – Peter Kerekes
Vera Dreams Of The Sea – Kaltrina Krasniqi
White Building – Kavich Neang
Anatomy Of Time – Jakrawal Nilthamrong
El Otro Tom – Rodrigo Pla, Laura Santullo
El Gran Movimento – Kiro Russo
Once Upon A Time In Calcutta – Aditya Vikram Sengupta
Rhino – Oleg Sentsov
True Things – Harry WootliffInu-Oh – Yuasa Masaaki
New images from Jane Campion’s “Power Of The Dog,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” and Ana Lily Amirpour’s “Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon” are below.
