Venice program set

“Joker” film, Clooney and Pitt at the film festival

The program of the 81st Venice Film Festival has been announced: Festival director Alberto Barbera announced this year's selection on Tuesday. 21 films will vie for the Golden Lion from August 28 to September 7.

Austria is not represented in the competition. After only a few stars appeared at the Lido last year due to the US actors' strike, several celebrities are expected this year.

The film festival will open with the sequel to the cult horror comedy "Beetlejuice" by director Tim Burton. Hollywood stars Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton play the leading roles. The cast also includes Burton's partner, Italian diva Monica Bellucci, who is also expected at the Lido.

Winona Ryder in "Beetlejuice"(Bild: Viennareport/www.viennareport.at)

Clooney and Pitt celebrate "Wolfs" premiere
George Clooney and Brad Pitt will arrive in Venice for the premiere of "Wolfs" by "Spider-Man" director Jon Watts. In the action comedy, Clooney and Pitt have to work together to cover up a crime. The two actors thrilled moviegoers together from 2001 to 2007 with the "Ocean's" trilogy. In 2008, they starred together in the dark comedy "Burn After Reading" by the brothers Ethan and Joel Coen.

New Almodóvar and "Joker" sequel
Among the films in competition for the Golden Lion is Pedro Almodóvar's new film "The Room Next Door". Spain's cult director made his first English-language film. The two Hollywood stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton take on the leading roles, with John Turturro, the actor known from films such as "Transformers" and "The Batman", also taking part. The film is about the experiences of a war reporter.

Also in competition is the sequel to the dark "Joker" film from 2019, "Joker: Folie à Deux" directed by Todd Phillips. Lots of music and a strong interplay between Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga can be seen in the film's trailer. In it, Phoenix returns in the role of failed comedian Arthur Fleck, who lived on the fringes of Gotham City society as Batman's antagonist in "Joker".

"Joker: Folie à Deux "Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga(Bild: Viennareport)

Jolie as Callas
Angelina Jolie transforms herself into the legendary opera singer Maria Callas in the biopic "Maria". The film by Chilean director Pablo Larraín tells the tragic story of the opera singer at the end of her life in Paris in the 1970s. Italian actors Pierfrancesco Favino and Alba Rohrwacher take on the roles of two assistants who remain loyal to the diva in the last days of her life.

Five Italian films are in competition, including "Queer" by director Luca Guadagnino. The film is based on the novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs and stars British actor and ex-007 Daniel Craig. The screenwriter of "Queer", which was shot in the Roman film studios of Cinecittá, is Justin Keritzkes, with whom Guadagnino had already worked on his most recent film "Challengers".

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded to American actress Sigourney Weaver. Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir will also be honored for his lifetime achievement. French actress Isabelle Huppert will chair the jury this year.