79th Venice International Film Festival to kick off in August—this year’s movie lineups announced

The Venice International Film Festival which will be holding its 79th edition this year announced its lineup of the films which will be screened at the festival. The list includes movies by directors like Luca Guadagnino, Darren Aronofsky, Alejandro Gonzelez Inarritu, Joanna Hogg and Andrew Dominik which will compete for a Golden Lion at the festival.

According to sources, stars including Olivia Wilde, Penelope Cruz, Ana de Armas, Cate Blanchett, Timothee Chalamet, Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Christoph Waltz, Sigourney Weaver and Mia Goth are expected to be on the Palazzo Del Cinema’s red carpet during the event scheduled from August 31 to September 10.

Speaking about the festival, its director, Alberto Barbera was quoted as saying, “It’s often said that film festivals are a window on the world,” noting that, “from this window, we are witnessing things that we would rather not see, such as the war of aggression on Ukraine.”

Among the buzz makers at the festival is the American director, Darren Aronofsky, whose film, Black Swan was the festival’s opener in 2010. He is back with his new film, The Whale which is an adaptation of Samuel D Hunter’s play about a morbidly obese recluse. Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, who first made a splash in Venice with Tilda Swinton's film, I Am Love, will be back at the festival with his new movie, Bones and All featuring, Timothee Chalamet and Taylor Russell as cannibal lovers on a road trip across America in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Andre Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe drama Blonde starring Ana de Armas as the Hollywood icon is one of four Netflix original films in the 23-title competition section. American filmmaker Noah Baumbach’s White Noise, with Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver and Jodie Turner-Smith (which is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo) will also be shown at the festival. The film marks the first time a Netflix film has landed in the festival’s opening slot.