This year’s Venice Film Festival revealed the lineup for its 80th production. According to Deadline, the event’s chief Alberto Barbera stated that the program was finalized before the SAG-AFTRA strike. One film, Challengers, which was supposed to be the festival’s main opener, has been canceled due to the strikes. Comandante, starring Pierfrancesco Favino, will instead open the festival. 

There are several other highly anticipated films set to premiere in the fest, such as Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, in which he wrote, directed, and starred in. David Fincher’s The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender, is also set to premiere. Other titles include Pablo Larrain’s El Conde, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, Michael Mann’s Ferrari, and Ava DuVernay’s Origin. 

Ava DuVernay is making history as the first African-American woman to compete in the festival with her film Origin. 

Alongside these films, some other names have sparked controversy within audiences. Roman Polanski is premiering his new feature, The Palace, at the festival. Likewise, Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance and Luc Besson’s DogMan will show in Venice as well. According to The Hollywood Reporter, each of these filmmakers have been accused of sexual assault and were main focuses during the #MeToo movement a few years ago. The Hollywood Reporter, while discussing the topic, stated:

But for many, all three directors are the cinematic equivalent of a trigger warning and their presence in Venice is certain to spark a furious response, particularly online and on social media… Not that Venice is likely to take notice. Festival director Alberto Barbera has embraced (or ignored) scandal in the past, most recently in 2019 when Venice premiered Polanski’s An Officer and A Spy in competition. 

The same source noted a conversation between Barbera and THR Roma, where Barbera said he, “I stand firmly among those who in the debate distinguish between the responsibility of the man and that of the artist.”

The full line-up, as announced by The Hollywood Reporter, is shown below:

Competition

Comandante, dir: Edoardo de Angelis 

Adagio, dir: Stefano Sollima
La Bête, dir: Bertrand Bonello
DogMan, dir: Luc Besson
El Conde, dir: Pablo Larrain
Enea, dir: Pietro Castellitto
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Ferrari, dir: Michael Mann
Finalmente L’Alba, dir: Saverio Costanzo
The Green Border, dir: Agnieszka Holland
Holly, dir: Fien Troch
Hors-Saison, dir: Stéphane Brizé
Io Capitano, dir: Matteo Garrone
The Killer, dir: David Fincher
Lubo, dir: Giorgio Diritti
Maestro, dir: Bradley Cooper
Memory, dir: Michel Franco
Origin, dir: Ava DuVernay
Poor Things, dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
Priscilla, dir: Sofia Coppola
The Promised Land, dir: Nikolaj Arcel
Die Theorie Von Allem, dir: Timm Kroger
Woman Of, dirs: Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert

Out of Competition

Fiction

Aggro Dr1ft, dir: Harmony Korine

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, dir: William Friedkin

Coup de Chance, dir: Woody Allen

Daaaaaal!, dir: Quentin Dupieux

Hit Man, dir: Richard Linklater

L’Ordine del Tempo, dir: Liliana Cavani

The Palace, dir: Roman Polanski

The Penitent, dir: Luca Barbareschi

Snow Leopard, dir: Pema Tseden

Vivants, dir: Alix Delaporte

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, dir: Wes Anderson (short)

Short

Welcome to Paradise, dir: Leonardo Di Costanzo

Non-Fiction

Amor, dir: Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri

Enzo Jannacci Vengo Anch’io, dir: Giorgio Verdelli

Frente a Guernica (Version Integrale), dirs: Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi

Hollywoodgate, dir: Ibrahim Nash’at

Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros, dir: Frederick Wiseman

Ryuichi Sakamoto Opus, dir: Neo Sora

Series

D’Argent et de Sang (episodes 1-12), dirs: Xavier Giannoli, Frederic Planchon

I Know Your Soul (episodes 1-2), dirs: Alen Drljevic, Nermin Hamzagic

Special Screening

La Parte del Leone: Una Storia della Mostra, dirs: Baptiste Etchegary, Guiseppe Bucchi

Horizons

En Attendant la Nuit, dir: Céline Rouzet
Behind the Mountains, dir: Mohamed Ben Attia
A Cielo Abierto, dirs: Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga
City of Wind, dir: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Dormitory, dir: Nehir Tuna
El Paraiso, dir: Enrico Maria Artale
Explanation for Everything, dir: Gabor Reisz
The Featherweight, dir: Robert Kolodny
Gasoline Rainbow, dirs: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
Heartless, dirs: Nara Normande, Tiao
Hesitation Wound, dir: Selman Nacar
Housekeeping for Beginners, dir: Goran Stolevski
Invelle, dir: Simone Massi
Paradise Is Burning, dir: Mika Gustafson The Red Suitcase, dir: Fidel Devkota Shadow of Fire, dir: Shinya Tsukamoto
Una Sterminata Domenica, dir: Alain Perroni
Tatami, dirs: Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi

Horizons Extra

Bota Jone, dir: Luana Bajrami
Day of the Fight, dir: Jack Huston
Felicita, dir: Micaela Ramazzotti
Forever Forever, dir: Anna Buryachkova
L’Homme d’Argile, dir: Anais Tellenne
In the Land of Saints and Sinners, dir: Robert Lorenz
Pet Shop Boys, dir: Olmo Schnabel
Stolen, dir: Karan Tejpal
The Rescue, dir: Daniela Goggi

Venice Classics

Non-Fiction

Un Altra Italia Era Possibile, Il Cinema Di Guiseppe De Santis, dir: Stefano Della Casa

Bill Douglas My Best Friend, dir: Jack Archer

Dario Argento Panico, dir: Simone Scafidi

Frank Capra: Mr America, dir: Matthew Wells

Ken Jacobs From Orchard Street to the Museum of Modern Art, dir: Fred Riedel

Le Film Pro-Nazi d’Hitchcock, dir: Daphne Baiwir

Landrian, dir: Ernesto Daranas Serrano

Michel Gondry Do It Yourself, dir: François Nemeta

Thank You Very Much, dir: Alex Braverman