28/07/2016 - Directors with films in competition include Pablo Larraín, Stéphane Brizé, Tom Ford, Denis Villeneuve and François Ozon. Italy is also represented by Roan Johnson, and Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti

An indirect approach to reality, film that’s about the present even when it focuses on the past and the future. This is the guiding thread that director Alberto Barbera identifies in the official selection of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival (31 August-10 September), the programme for which was unveiled today in Rome. “Last year the common element to all the films was their focus on reality”, observes Barbera, “this year filmmakers are still focusing on the present, but through filters, and are exploring big existential issues by taking a step back from the brutality of everyday life”. 

Nineteen films have been selected for the competition of the 73rd Venice Film Festival. They include adaptations of literary works and plays, for example The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Wim Wenders in 3D, which is based on a play by Austrian Peter Handke, A Woman’s Life [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] by Stéphane Brizé, which is based on the book of the same name by Guy de Maupassant, and Nocturnal Animals [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Tom Ford, which is based on the book by Austin Wright. Then there’s science fiction and a “mix between Spielberg and Malick” from Denis Villeneuve with his film Arrival, and the dystopian future portrayed by Ana Lily Amirpour in The Bad Batch. The selection also features period films such as Rai (Paradise) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Andrei Konchalovsky, which reflects on the Holocaust, Jackie [+see also:
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film profile] by Pablo Larraín, starring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, and all-European western Brimstone [+see also:
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Q&A: Martin Koolhoven
film profile] by Martin Koolhoven, which brings together the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden. 

Emir Kusturica will compete for the Golden Lion with On the Milky Road [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which builds on his short film screened on the Lido two years ago as part of collective film Words with Gods; Terrence Malick will be presenting Voyage of Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which is “much more than a documentary” specifies Barbera, a visionary film on the creation of the universe starring Cate Blanchett; and then there’s François Ozon with his film Frantz [+see also:
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Q&A: François Ozon
film profile], starring Pierre Niney. The competition also features three Italian titles, selected because they are “well-made, brave, and think outside the box”: they are Questi giorni [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Giuseppe Piccioni, a coming-of-age story centering around four girls, one of whom receives an unlikely job offer from Belgrade; Piuma [+see also:
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film profile] by Roan Johnson, another coming-of-age story in the form of a comedy which revolves around two 18-year-olds getting to grips with a pregnancy; and documentary Spira Mirabilis [+see also:
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film profile] by Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti, which tells a story of immortality through the four elements of nature: water, air, earth and fire. The only debut work in competition is Pasolinian piece El Cristo Ciego [+see also:
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film profile] by Christopher Murray, which is set in the Chilean mines. 

Out of competition, in addition to special event The Young Pope (episodes 1 and 2) by Paolo Sorrentino, there will be screenings of Never Ever [+see also:
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interview: Victória Guerra
film profile] by Benoît Jacquot, which is based on a short novel by Don De Lillo; the first Italian film by Amir Naderi, Monte [+see also:
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film profile], which was co-produced by the USA and France; Tommaso [+see also:
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film profile] by Kim Rossi Start, which is described by the director of the festival as “a brave film, with a strong autobiographical component, about the director’s obsessions and relationship with women”; Hacksaw Ridge by Mel Gibson, and on the non-fiction side of things, documentaries Assalto al cielo [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Francesco Munzi, on the summer of 1968 in Italy, Safari [+see also:
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film profile] by Ulrich Seidl, which is for people “with strong stomachs”, and One More Time with Feeling (3D), a journey into the world of Nick Cave. There will also be a special out-of-competition screening of Planetarium [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile] by Rebecca Zlotowski. Also being shown out-of-competition is the film that will close the festival: a remake of The Magnificent Seven by Antoine Fuqua, starring Denzel Washington (as a reminder, the festival will be opened by La La Land by Damien Chazelle, which is being shown in competition).

Last but not least, a special mention goes to the new ‘Cinema in the Garden’ section, which is reserved for ‘middle-of-the-road’ film lying somewhere between the arthouse and commercial film genres, and will be hosted by a new theatre with 400 seats: the programme for the section includes, among others, L’estate addosso [+see also:
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film profile] by Gabriele Muccino, The Net by Kim Ki-duk, and documentary film Robinù [+see also:
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film profile] by journalist Michele Santoro. The 73rd Venice Film Festival will be dedicated to Abbas Kiarostami and Michael Cimino, to whom there will be a double tribute.

Competition

La La Land - Damien Chazelle (US) (opening film)
The Bad Batch - Ana Lily Amirpour (US)
A Woman's Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] - Stéphane Brizé (France/Belgium)
The Light Between Oceans [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Derek Cianfrance (US/New Zealand/UK)
El Ciudadano Ilustre [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat (Argentina/Spain)
Spira Mirabilis [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] (documentary) - Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti (Italy/Switzerland)
The Woman Who Left - Lav Diaz (Philippines)
The Untamed [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Amat Escalante (Mexico/Denmark/France/Germany/Norway)
Nocturnal Animals [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Tom Ford (US/UK)
Piuma [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Roan Johnson (Italy)
Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Andrei Konchalovsky (Russia/Germany)
Brimstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Martin Koolhoven
film profile] - Martin Koolhoven (Netherlands/Germany/Belgium/France/UK/Sweden)
On the Milky Road [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Emir Kusturica (Serbia/UK/US)
Voyage of Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (documentary) - Terrence Malick (US/Germany)
El Cristo Ciego [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Christopher Murray (Chile/France)
Frantz [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: François Ozon
film profile] - François Ozon (France/Germany)
Questi giorni [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Giuseppe Piccioni (Italy)
Arrival - Denis Villeneuve (US)
The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Wim Wenders (France/Germany)
Jackie [+see also:
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film profile] - Pablo Larraín (US/UK/Chile/France)

Out of Competition - Fiction

The Young Pope (episodes 1 and 2) - Paolo Sorrentino (Italy/France/Spain/US)
The Bleeder - Philippe Falardeau (US/Canada)
The Magnificent Seven - Antoine Fuqua (US)
Hacksaw Ridge - Mel Gibson (US/Australia)
Planetarium [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile] - Rebecca Zlotowski (France/Belgium)
The Journey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Nick Hamm (UK)
Never Ever [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victória Guerra
film profile] - Benoît Jacquot (France/Portugal)
Gantz:O - Kawamura Yasushi (Japan)
The Age of Shadows - Kim Jee Woon (South Korea)
Monte [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Amir Naderi (Italy/US/France)
Tommaso [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Kim Rossi Stuart (Italy)

Out of Competition - Non-Fiction

Our War [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Bruno Chiaravalloti, Claudio Jampaglia, Benedetta Argentieri (Italy/US)
I Called Him Morgan [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Kasper Collin (Sweden/US)
One More Time With Feeling [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Andrew Dominik (UK)
Austerlitz [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Sergei Loznitsa (Germany)
Assalto al cielo [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Francesco Munzi (Italy)
Safari [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Ulrich Seidl (Austria/Denmark)
American Anarchist - Charlie Siskel (US)

Out of Competition - Special Screenings

The Orchid Seller - Lorenzo Vigas (Venezuela/Mexico)
Rem - Tomas Koolhaas (US)

Cinema in the Garden

Inseparables - Marcos Carnevale (Argentina)
Franca: Chaos and Creation [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Francesco Carrozzini (Italy)
In Dubious Battle - James Franco (US)
The Net - Kim Ki-Duk (South Korea)
L'estate addosso [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Gabriele Muccino (Italy)
The Secret Life of Pets - Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney (US)
Robinù [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Michele Santoro (Italy)
My Art - Laurie Simmons (US)

(Translated from Italian)