Joker 2 and Angelina Jolie kick off awards season

Alberto Barbera, it must be said, has done it again.

The longtime director of the Venice Film Festival, who has successfully repositioned the Italian film event as a springboard for awards season, unveiled another top-notch lineup Tuesday for the 81st Biennale (August 28-September 7). And, as Kendall Roy would say, it’s “all hits, all the time.”

In addition to the sequels from the flagship studios, Warner Bros. will launch the festival with an out-of-competition screening of Tim Burton’s film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Todd Phillips returns to Lido competition with Joker: Madness for Twothe continuation of his 2019 Golden Lion Joker — Barbera has selected a tasty mix of established authors and emerging talents that seems to please both critics and international buyers.

Pedro Almodóvar is back in Venice with The room next doorthe highly anticipated English-language feature debut from the Oscar-winning Spanish director. Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore star in the drama, which has dual studio backing, with Sony Classics handling domestic distribution and Warner handling most of the rest of the world. Expect a major awards campaign for the film, both for the two leads and for Almodovar as director, after its Lido release.

Eyes will also be on Angelina Jolie, who plays legendary opera diva Maria Callas in Marriedthe new feature film by Chilean director Pablo Larrain. Larrain’s three previous biopics — Jackie, Spencer And Count — all of them premiered in Venice and were nominated for Oscars.

Choosing Jon Watts’ action thriller Wolvesstarring Brad Pitt and George Clooney in an out-of-competition slot, Barbera is also ensuring that the tabloids will have plenty to keep them busy at Venice this year. Expect a deluge of “Brangelina” headlines surrounding the film. Wolves world premiere, which could help Sony ahead of its September release.

Venice favourite Luca Guadagnino is in the spotlight with his latest film, the adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ Weird. Re-teaming with The challengers Screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, the Call me by your name The director gave Daniel Craig his least 007 role to date, as an American expatriate in 1940s Mexico City who falls for a younger man (played by Drew Starkey). Guadagnino always gets a warm reception at the Lido, but that doesn’t always translate into international success or awards. His last two Venice-bound features didn’t do much at festivals: Bones and all (2022) and Sigh (2018), although the director is on top at the moment, thanks to the crossover success of The challengerswhich was originally scheduled to open Venice last year.

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