Venice Film Festival: The official selection of the 80th edition has been unveiled

The prestigious Venice International Film Festival has, in fact, begun with the usual press conference to present the 80th edition. This journey will take it to August 30, 2023, when the Biennale Cinema officially begins.

The event, which was attended by Roberto Cicutto, President of the Biennale di Venezia, and Alberto Barbera, Artistic Director of the Cinema sector, and in which this year’s films lineup was unveiled, was also awaited because, with the strike SAG-AFTRA taking place in recent weeks in Hollywood, there are fears that the red carpet will be starless.

“Last week was characterized by a period of turbulence due to the strike of actors and screenwriters, which took us a bit by surprise,” said the artistic director of Venice, Alberto Barbera, during the meeting with the press.

However, Barbera stressed that: “Fortunately, the impact of the actors’ strike, the reasons for which are widely shared, was very modest”. He then reassured me that the festival has kept its program unchanged, keeping its richness and diversity intact.

“Actually, the only film we have ‘lost’ is ‘Challengers’ by Luca Guadagnino, whose commercial release has been moved to April 2024”, added Barbera.

THE PROGRAM

Even if Hollywood actors are missing, the Venice Film Festival is still ready to show off a majestic and exciting program for this 80th edition.

In addition to the participation of a solid selection of great directors, such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Bertrand Bonello, Luc Besson, Michel Franco and the unexpected Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the festival’s selection includes a prestigious group of US directors, including Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay and Michael Mann, but also films such as “The Killer” by David Fincher with Michael Fassbender, “Maestro” by Bradley Cooper on the life of Leonard Bernstein and “El Conde” by Pablo Larrain. This allegorical work portrays the dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire.

In addition, there are six Italian films that we will see in world premieres on the Lido, including: “Io Capitano” by Matteo Garrone, “Enea” by Pietro Castellitto and “Adagio” by Stefano Sollima.

Finally, the films by Woody Allen and Roman Polanski will be presented out of competition together with “Aggro Dr1ft” by Harmony Korine, “Hit Man” by Richard Linklater and “The Order of Time” by Liliana Cavani, who will also receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Our Chiara Nicoletti interviewed the Artistic Director Alberto Barbera immediately after the press conference.
Here you can find the Podcast (in Italian) to listen to what he told us.

The eyes of the world are now focused on Venice, where the magical atmosphere of the festival has already begun to peep out. These will be intense days of visions and emotions, in which cinema will be the undisputed protagonist and give voice to great stories and messages from around the globe. FRED Film Radio will be there, ready to tell you everything!

All we have to do is wait for August 30th, with our eyes turned towards the Lido.