As the fall release calendar crumbles under the domino effect of delayed releases due to the actors strike, the fall festival calendar appears to stand strong. Yorgos Lanthimos’s upcoming black sci-fi comedy Poor Things, starring muse Emma Stone, will make its premiere alongside the canals of Venice, a news item announced the same day that its United States release is being pushed back to December. Italian director Edoardo De Angelis will open the festival with Comandante, though the spotlight will shine on two biopics about mid-century American figures: Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla Presley–approved biopic, Priscilla, and the Bradley Cooper–directed Leonard Bernstein story, Maestro, starring himself and Carey Mulligan. The Lido will also buzz about new work from Drive My Car director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, who returns to Venice with Evil Does Not Exist; film-bro favorite David Fincher’s The Killer starring embattled actor Brad Pitt with assists from Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton; and Ava DuVernay’s latest social drama Origin, based on the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, featuring performances by Aunjanue Ellis and Niecy Nash-Betts. Finally, there’s the controversial out-of-competition slate, which will bring us features from Roman Polanski and Woody Allen, a Travis Scott–led Harmony Korine flick, and a new Wes Anderson short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, based on Roald Dahl’s darker tales — if you didn’t get your Wes Anderson–twee fill with Asteroid City earlier this year. The only thing missing is Zendaya and her “little white boys†in Challengers, which director Luca Guadagnino pulled from opening the festival in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Below, the full 2023 Venice Film Festival lineup. The 80th edition runs from August 30 to September 9.
Competition
Comandante, Edoardo De Angelis – Opening Film
The Promised Land, Nikolaj Arcel
Dogman, Luc Besson
Le Bête, Bertrand Bonello
Hors-Saison, Stéphane Brizé
Enea, Pietro Castellitto
Maestro, Bradley Cooper
Priscilla, Sofia Coppola
Finally Dawn, Saverio Costanzo
Lubo, Giorgio Diritti
Origin, Ava DuVernay
The Killer, David Fincher
Memory, Michel Franco
Io Capitano, Matteo Garrone
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
The Green Border, Agnieszka Holland
The Theory of Everything, Timm Kröger
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos
El Conde, Pablo Larrain
Ferrari, Michael Mann
Adagio, Stefano Sollima
Woman Of, Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert
Holly, Fien Torch
Horizons
A Cielo Aperto, Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga
El Paraiso, Enrico Maria Artale
Behind the Mountains, Mohamed Ben Attia
The Red Suitcase, Fidel Devkota
Tatami, Guy Native, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Paradise Is Burning, Mika Gustavson
The Featherweight, Robert Colony
Invelle, Simone Massi
Hesitation Wound, Selman Nacar
Heartless, Nara Normande, Tião
Una Sterminata Domenica, Alain Parroni
City of Wind, Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Explanation for Everything, Gábor Reisz
Gasoline Rainbow, Bill Ross, Turner Ross
En Attendant La Nuit, Céline Rouzet
Housekeeping for Beginners, Goran Stolevski
Shadow of Fire, Shinya Tsukamoto
Dormitory, Nehir Tuna
Horizons Extra
Bota Jonë, Luà na Barjami
Forever Forever, Anna Buryachkova
The Rescue, Daniela Goggi
Day of the Fight, Jack Huston
In the Land of Saints and Sinners, Robert Lorenz
Felicità , Micaela Ramazzotti
Pet Shop Boys, Olmo Schnabel
Stolen, Karan Tejpal
L’Homme D’Argille, Anaïs Tellene
Out of Competition — Series
D’argent et de sang, Xavier Giannoli, Fredéric Planchon
I Know Your Soul, created by Jasmila Zbanic and Damir Ibrahimovic, directed by Alen Drjević and Nermin Hamzagic
Out of Competition — Nonfiction
Amor, Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Frente A Guernica (Uncut Version), Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi
Hollywoodgate, Ibrahim Nash’at
Ryuichi Sakamoto — Opus, Neo Sora
Enzo Jannacci Vengo Anch’io, Giorgio Verdelli
Menus Plaisirs, Frederik Wiseman
Out of Competition — Fiction
Society of the Snow, J.A. Bayona – Closing Film
Coup de Chance, Woody Allen
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson
The Penitent, Luca Barbareschi
L’Ordine Del Tempo, Liliana Cavani
Vivants, Alix Delaporte
Welcome to Paradise, Leonardo di Constanzo
DAAAAAALI!, Quentin Dupieux
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, William Friedkin
Making of, Cédric Kahn
Aggro Dr1ft, Harmony Korine
Hit Man, Richard Linklater
The Palace, Roman Polanski
Snow Leopard, Pema Tseden