The beautiful Italian city of Venice is celebrating the 78th edition of its world-famous film festival this September. The line-up for this year’s edition has something special for lovers of every movie genre. The Venice Film Festival will be the stage for the world premiere of the long-awaited Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, and Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers among many others.
The French film festival of Cannes ended only about a week ago and film fanatics have already been impatiently awaiting the line-up for the Italian film festival of Venice.
This year’s list includes a wide variety of gems: Pedro Almodovar’s family drama Parallel Mothers will premiere on the opening night, September 1st. The science-fiction epic Dune will premiere on September second, with a list of Hollywood stars like Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet, and Jason Momoa. Biopics such as Paolo Sorrentino’s Hand of God based on his childhood hero, soccer player Diego Maradonna or Spencer, based on Princess Diana’s life and starring Kristen Stewart are also officially competing for the Golden Lion award this year.
Academy Award-winning director for Parasite (2019), Bong Joon Ho, will be a member of the competition jury. It is the first time in the prestigious film festival’s history that a South Korean director will have the honor of being the president of the seven-person jury.
Here is a shortlist of films to remember when they eventually release in movie theaters or on streaming services:
- Dune by Denis Villeneuve (releasing worldwide on September 2nd)
- The Hand of God by Paolo Sorrentino (releasing on Netflix)
- The Last Duel by Ridley Scott (releasing October 15th)
- Last Night in Soho by Edgar Wright (releasing October 22nd)
- The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion (releasing September)
- Parallel Mothers by Pedro Almodovar (releasing September 1st)
- The Card Counter by Paul Schrader (releasing September 10th)
- Halloween Kills by David Gordon Green (releasing October 15th)