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George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Emma Stone … The 82nd Mostra of Cinema in Venice will honor a cloud of stars. The death of a girl in Gaza or a Vladimir Putin embodied by Jude Law will also be highlights of the festival.
(Keystone-ATS) In total, 21 feature films will be in competition from August 27 to September 6 for the prestigious golden lion for best film, the artistic director of Mostra, Alberto Barbera, announced on Tuesday during a press conference.
The dean of the film festivals, which has become a springboard for the Oscars, will open with the world premiere of “La Grazia”, of the Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (“La Grande Bellezza”), with his favorite actor Toni Servillo. The scenario was kept secret.
Long awaited, Guillermo Del Toro’s latest opus, “Frankenstein”, taken from the work of Mary Shelley, was produced by Netflix which “did not skimp on the means made available to the creative fantasy” of the Mexican filmmaker, according to Mr. Barbera. Starting with an exceptional red carpet with Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elardi, Christoph Waltz and Mia Goth.
Two years after winning the Golden Lion with its “poor creatures” Gothic fable, Yorgos Lanthimos returns to Mostra with “Bugonia”, where Emma Stone is again headlining.
Three French films
Among the three French films in turn are the “foreigner” of François Ozon, black and white adaptation of the famous novel by Albert Camus with Benjamin Voisin in the main role, and “at work” by Valérie Donzelli with Bastien Bouillon and Virginie Ledoyen, on a successful photographer who abandons everything to become a writer.
Olivier Assayas (“Sils Maria”) completes this list with “Le Mage du Kremlin”, adapted from the bestseller of Giuliano Da Empoli, in which the British actor Jude Law is “impressive in the role of (Vladimir) Putin”, Dixit Alberto Barbera.
“No controversy”
The festival has also selected the latest installment of the American director Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow, “A House of Dynamite”, and “Father Mother Sister Brother”, a family fresco by his compatriot Jim Jarmusch, with Adam Driver and Cate Blanchett.
Alberto Barbera appeared particularly moved when presenting “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (“Hind Rajab’s voice”), which returned to death in early 2024 in Gaza of this six -year -old Palestinian child, who “tried to flee with his family during an Israeli attack”.
The death of the little girl, her family and two paramedics who left for her moved the whole world, and UN experts questioned the Israeli army in what could constitute a war crime.
Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania used the original sound calls for emergency telephone calls. “I hope there will be no controversy,” said Barbera, predicting that this film would have a strong impact on the public.
In a lighter register, the American director Noah Baumbach returns to Venice with “Jay Kelly”, a comedy co-written with his wife Greta Gerwig, with a prestigious cast, including George Clooney in the role of an actor in an identity crisis.
First for Julia Roberts
At 57, Julia Roberts will crowd the Lido red carpet for the first time with “After the Hunt” (out of competition), a thriller by Luca Guadagnino produced by Amazon where the Hollywood superstar embodies a professor of a prestigious American university confronted with a sex scandal.
Outside competition, the sulfurous American director Gus Van Sant will return to the city of Doges with “Dead Man’s Wire”, with Al Pacino, while Cédric Gimenez (“Bac Nord”) will present “dog 51”, science fiction dystopia with Gilles Lelouche, Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos.
The jury will be chaired by the American director Alexander Payne, who will notably have by his side the French director Stéphane Brizé (“The law of the market”), the Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof (“The seeds of the wild figure”), the Chinese actress Zhao Tao or the Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres.
