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VENICE 2022 Competition / Out of Competition

Great masters, confirmations and debuts at the 79th Venice Film Festival

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- Five Italian films and five French titles are in competition at the festival directed by Alberto Barbera, which will take place from 31 August to 10 September on the Lido

Great masters, confirmations and debuts at the 79th Venice Film Festival
L'immensità by Emanuele Crialese

“Festivals are not a bubble closed off to contemporary reality”. Thus began the presentation by artistic director Alberto Barbera of the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival, announcing initiatives in support of Ukraine and the many filmmakers deprived of freedom around the world. Barbera then announced the titles in Competition and Out of Competition. Besides the already announced White Noise by Noah Baumbach (read the news), the festival will also welcome great masters, confirmations and debuts.

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Lord of the Ants [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianni Amelio
film profile
]
by Gianni Amelio is a film about the “Braibanti case” which caused a sensation in Italy in the 1960s, with the conviction for plagiarism of an intellectual close to Pasolini and Bertolucci; Marco Bellocchio produces the film. Another filmmaker making their return to the festival is Emanuele Crialese (after Terraferma [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuele Crialese
interview: Emanuele Crialese
film profile
]
in 2011) with L’immensità [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuele Crialese
film profile
]
, starring Penélope CruzChiara [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Susanna Nicchiarelli
film profile
]
by Susanna Nicchiarelli shines a light on the character of Santa Chiara. Luca Guadagnino will present Bones and All [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a portrait of the victims of the failure of the American dream, shot in the Midwest in the United States. Also shot in the USA is Monica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Pallaoro
film profile
]
by Andrea Pallaoro, starring trans actress Trace Lysette.

In Other People's Children [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile
]
, with Virginie Efira, Rebecca Zlotowski tackles the delicate theme of motherhood, the desire for it and its many and unexpected forms. In Our Ties [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, French actor-director Roschdy Zem centres on a bourgeois family of Maghreb origin. Director Romain Gavras is also selected with Athena [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Romain Gavras
film profile
]
, a film about the intense life of the banlieue, written with Ladj Ly (Les Misérables [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ladj Ly
film profile
]
). The only feature debut in competition is Saint Omer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Diop
interview: Kayije Kagame
film profile
]
, centred on the trial of a mother who has killed her daughter, and directed by Alice Diop, who comes from the world of documentaries, while Frederick Wiseman makes his first foray into fiction cinema with A Couple [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, about the complex emotional relationship between Tolstoy and his wife.

The Eternal Daughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the new film from British filmmaker Joanna Hogg, is a ghost story starring Tilda Swinton, and revolves around the mother-daughter relationship. Highly anticipated following the worldwide success of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh returns with The Banshees of Inisherin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a “story à la Beckett”, as described by Barbera.

Darren Aronofsky returns with The Whale, based on a play and shot during the pandemic. Highly anticipated as well is the Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde, by Andrew Dominik, starring Ana De Armas. Cate Blanchett will meanwhile be the lead in Todd Field's Tár, playing an orchestra conductor. One of the most talked about titles, since it has been in the works for five years, is Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths by Alejandro González Iñárritu, a very personal three-hour film in which the Mexican director pours out his obsessions and nightmares. Beyond the Wall, from Iranian director Vahid Jalilvand who has twice appeared in the Orizzonti section, is a metaphor for the country's political and social conflicts. Also projected on the Lido will be No Bears, the fourth film secretly shot by Jafar Panahi. Argentine director Santiago Mitre is selected for the first time on the Lido with Argentina, 1985, as are Japanese director Kôji Fukada, with Love Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kōji Fukada
film profile
]
, and American documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, with All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, about photographer Nan Goldin.

Standing out in the Out of Competition subsection are the series The Kingdom Exodus by Lars von Trier and Copenhagen Cowboy by Nicolas Winding Refn, as are the films The Hanging Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Francesco Carrozzini (closing film), adapted from the thriller by Jo Nesbo; Master Gardener by Paul Schrader, who will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement; Call of God [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
, a posthumous film by Kim Ki-duk; Siccità [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, an ensemble film by Paolo Virzì; and the highly anticipated film by Olivia Wilde, Don't Worry Darling, starring Harry Styles, which is “reminiscent of The Truman Show, but with an originality all its own” added Barbera.

Among the documentaries playing out of competition, we see the return of Sergei Loznitsa with The Kiev Trial [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile
]
, about the first trial of nazi leaders in Ukraine; In viaggio [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
by Gianfranco Rosi, which follows Pope Francis in his numerous travels; and Nuclear by Oliver Stone, which, with its controversial ideas, is sure to be a cause for debate.

The films selected in the other sections have also been unveiled today: those in Venice Classics Documentaries and Biennale College Cinema (read below) and those in Orizzonti (read the news).

The films selected:

Competition

White Noise - Noah Baumbach (USA) (opening film)
Lord of the Ants [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianni Amelio
film profile
]
- Gianni Amelio (Italy)
The Whale - Darren Aronofsky (USA)
L'immensità [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuele Crialese
film profile
]
- Emanuele Crialese (Italy/France)
Saint Omer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Diop
interview: Kayije Kagame
film profile
]
- Alice Diop (France)
Blonde - Andrew Dominik (USA)
Tár - Todd Field (USA)
Love Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kōji Fukada
film profile
]
- Kôji Fukada (Japan/France)
Athena [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Romain Gavras
film profile
]
- Romain Gavras (France)
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths - Alejandro González Iñárritu (Mexico)
Bones and All [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Luca Guadagnino (USA/Italy)
The Eternal Daughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Joanna Hogg (UK/USA)
Beyond the Wall - Vahid Jalilvand (Iran)
The Banshees of Inisherin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Martin McDonagh (Ireland/UK/USA)
Argentina, 1985 - Santiago Mitre (Argentina/USA)
Chiara [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Susanna Nicchiarelli
film profile
]
- Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy/Belgium)
Monica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Pallaoro
film profile
]
- Andrea Pallaoro (USA/Italy)
No Bears - Jafar Panahi (Iran)
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed - Laura Poitras (USA)
A Couple [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Frederick Wiseman (France/USA)
The Son [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Florian Zeller (UK)
Our Ties [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Roschdy Zem (France)
Other People's Children [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile
]
- Rebecca Zlotowski (France)

Out of Competition - Fiction

The Hanging Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Francesco Carrozzini (Italy/UK) (closing film)
When the Waves Are Gone [+see also:
film review
interview: Lav Diaz
film profile
]
- Lav Diaz (Philippines/France/Portugal/Denmark)
Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Oliver Hermanus (UK)
Dead for a Dollar - Walter Hill (USA/Canada)
Call of God [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
- Kim Ki-duk (Estonia/Lithuania/Kirghizistan)
Dreamin' Wild - Bill Pohlad (USA)
Master Gardener - Paul Schrader (USA)
Siccitá [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Paolo Virzì (Italy)
Pearl - Ti West (USA)
Don't Worry Darling - Olivia Wilde (USA)

Out of Competition - Non-Fiction

Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Evgeny Afineevsky (UK/USA/Ukraine)
The Matchmaker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benedetta Argentieri
film profile
]
- Benedetta Argentieri (Italy)
The Last Days of Humanity [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Enrico Ghezzi, Alessandro Gagliardo (Italy)
A Compassionate Spy [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Steve James (USA/UK)
Music for Black Pigeons [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jørgen Leth and Andreas Koe…
film profile
]
- Jorgen Leth, Andreas Koefoed (Denmark)
The Kiev Trial [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile
]
- Sergei Loznitsa (Netherlands/Ukraine)
In viaggio [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
- Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)
Bobi Wine: Ghetto President [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo (UK/Uganda/USA)
Nuclear - Oliver Stone (USA)

Out of Competition - Short Films

Camarera de piso - Lucrecia Martel (Argentina/Mexico)
A guerra finita - Simone Massi (Italy)
In quanto a noi - Simone Massi (Italy)
Look at Me - Sally Potter (UK/USA)

Out of Competition - Series

The Kingdom Exodus - Lars von Trier (Denmark)
Copenhagen Cowboy - Nicolas Winding Refn (Denmark)

Venice Classics Documentaries

Ragtag [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Giuseppe Boccassini (Germany/France/Italy)
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy - Nancy Buirski (USA)
Fragments of Paradise - KD Davison (USA)
Franco Zeffirelli, conformista ribelle [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Anselma Dell'Olio (Italy)
Jerry Schatzberg, portrait paysage - Pierre Filmon (France)
Godard seul le cinéma [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Cyril Leuthy (France)
The Ghost of Richard Harris - Adrian Sibley (Ireland/UK)
Bonnie - Simon Wallon (USA)
Sergio Leone - L'italiano che inventò l'America - Francesco Zippel (Italy)

Biennale College Cinema

Come le tartarughe [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Monica Dugo (Italy)
Banu [+see also:
trailer
interview: Tahmina Rafaella
film profile
]
- Tahmina Rafaella (Azerbaijan/Italy/France/Iran)
Mountain Onion - Eldar Shibanov (Kazakhstan)
Palimpsest [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Hanna Västinsalo (Finland)

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