The lineup for the 79th Venice Film Festival has been announced. Noah Baumbach’s White Noise will open the festival, as announced previously. The film stars Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig (who is busy with her new film Barbie) and is an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel of the same name.
Closing the festival is Francesco Carrozzini’s The Hanging Sun. This year’s jury is helmed by actress Julianne Moore, whilst Catherine Deneuve and Paul Schrader will receive Special Lifetime Achievement Golden Lions at the festival.
The competition strand is a doozy. It includes Andrew Dominik’s highly-anticipated film Blonde, in which Ana De Armas stars as Marilyn Monroe. In competition are also Joanna Hogg’s The Eternal Daughter, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale and Koji Fukada’s Love Life.Â
Cynthia Erivo at the 78th Venice Film Festival in 2021
Also returning to the Lido is Alejandro González Iñárritu with his new film Bardo, which is also part of the official competition lineup. Bardo is the director’s first film since 2015’s The Revenant which finally won Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar (he only had to eat raw bison liver to gain it…).
Laura Poitras, who won an Oscar for Best Documentary for her Edward Snowden doc Citizenfour, is premiering her new film, All The Beauty and The Bloodshed. It will premiere in competition, as will Frederick Wiseman’s new documentary, Un Couple.
Other titles for the festival include the premieres for Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, Oliver Stone’s Nuclear, Oliver Hermanus’ Living as well as Paul Schrader’s new film Master Gardener.Â
Venice also continues its habit of including one grisly, mainstream horror film in its lineup. Last year, Michael Myers hacked his way through several victims in Halloween Kills and this year, Ti West is bringing his film Pearl, which is a prequel to West’s film X, a slasher released earlier this year.Â
#BiennaleCinema2022 The press conference has just ended: see you at the 79th Venice International Film Festival #Venezia79 (Venice Lido, 31 August > 10 September 2022)! pic.twitter.com/lVSIfpBoTs
— La Biennale di Venezia (@la_Biennale) July 26, 2022
The festival will also see two TV series in its lineup. Lars Von Trier will premiere The Kingdom Exodus and Nicolas Winding Refn will bring Copenhagen Cowboy to the Lido.Â
Here’s the lineup in its full glory:
VENEZIA 79 COMPETITON
White Noise, dir: Noam Baumbach (opening night film)
Il Signore Delle Formiche, dir: Gianni Amelio
The Whale, dir: Darren Aronofsky
L’Imensita, dir: Emanuel Crialese
Saint Omer, dir: Alice Diop
Blonde, dir: Andrew Dominik
Tar, dir: Todd Field
Love Life, dir: Koji Fukada
Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths, dir: Alejandro G. Inarritu
Athena, dir: Romain Gavras
Bones And All, dir: Luca Guadagnino
The Eternal Daughter, dir: Joanna Hogg
Beyond The Wall, dir: Vahid Jalilvand
The Banshees Of Inisherin, dir: Martin McDonagh
Argentina 1985, dir: Santiago Mitre
Chiara, dir: Susanna Nicchiarelli
Monica, dir: Andrea Pallaoro
No Bears, dir: Jafar Panahi
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed, dir: Laura Poitras
A Couple, dir: Frederick Wiseman
The Son, dir: Florian Zeller
Our Ties, dir: Roschdy Zem
Other People’s Children, dir: Rebecca Zlotowski
OUT OF COMPETITION
Fiction films
The Hanging Sun, dir: Francesco Carrozzini (closing night film)
When The Waves Are Gone, dir: Lav Diaz
Living, dir: Oliver Hermanus
Dead For A Dollar, dir: Walter Hill
Call Of God, dir: Kim Ki-duk
Dreamin’ Wild, dir: Bill Pohlad
Master Gardener, dir: Paul Schrader
Drought, dir: Paolo Virzi
Pearl, dir: Ti West
Don’t Worry Darling, dir: Olivia Wilde
Documentaries
Freedom On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom, dir: Evgeny Afineevsky
The Matchmaker, dir: Benedetta Argentieri
Gli Ultimi Giorni Dell’Umanita, dirs, Enrico Ghezzi, Alessandro Gagliardo
A Compassionate Spy, dir: Steve James
Music For Black Pigeons, dirs, Jorgen Leth, Andreas Koefoed
The Kiev Trial, dir: Sergei Loznitsa
In Viaggio, dir: Gianfranco Rosi
Bobi Wine Ghetto President, dirs, Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo
Nuclear, dir: Oliver Stone
Short Films
Maid, dir: Lucretia Martel
Look At Me, dir: Sally Potter
Series
The Kingdom Exodus, dir: Lars von Trier
Copenhagen Cowboys, dir: Nicolas Winding Refn
HORIZONS EXTRA
Origin Of Evil, dir: Sebastien Mariner
Hanging Gardens, dir: Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
Amanda, dir: Carolina Cavalli
Zapatos Rojos, dir: Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser
Nezhou, dir: Soudade Kaadan
Notte Fantasma, dir: Fulvio Risuleo
Without Her, dir: Arian Vazirdaftari
Valeria Is Getting Married, dir: Michael Vinik
Goliath, dir: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
HORIZONS
Princess, Roberto De Paolis
On The Fringe, dir: Juan Diego Botto
Victim, dir: Michal Blasko
Trenque Lauquen I, dir: Laura Citarella
Trenque Lauquen II, dir: Laura Citarella
Vera, dirs: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
Blanquita, dir: Fernando Guzzoni
Pour La France, dir: Rachid Hami
A Man, dir: Kei Ishikawa
Bread And Salt, dir: Damian Kocur
Luxembourg, Luxembourg, dir: Antonio Lukich
Ti Mangio Il Cuore, dir: Pippo Mezzapesa
To The North, dir: Mihai Mincan
Autobiography, Makbul Mubarak
La Syndicaliste, dir: Jean-Paul Salomé
World War III, dir: Houman Seyedi
The Happiest Man In The World, dir: Teona Strugar Mitevska
The Bride, dir: Sergio Tréfaut
The Venice Film Festival runs from August 31 to September 10. The lineup is usually a good indicator of what films will go on to become awards favourites. There’s a high chance our next Best Picture winner is among these films.
