Venice Festival: The most promising films

The top film at this year’s festival should have been Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, starring two-time Emmy-winning actress Zendaya. Last year, the director won the silver lion for best director with “Bones and All” and also celebrated great success with the drama “Call me by your name” (2017). However, on the occasion of the Hollywood strikes, Guadagnino decided not to present the film in Venice as a sign of solidarity.

The presence of some movie stars has not yet been confirmed either. However, it is expected that there will be a slight lack of celebrities on the red carpet compared to previous years. Actor and filmmaker Bradley Cooper, who recently directed ‘A Star Is Born,’ has decided not to attend the festival despite his new film ‘Maestro’, in which he also stars, is in competition .

The must-sees of the film festival

Despite the lack of a star presence and also without “Challengers”, this year’s film festival in Venice has enough films to offer that will certainly be a topic of conversation for cinema fans for a long time to come.

• Priscilla, Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” follows just one year after the award-winning film “Elvis”. This time, however, the protagonist is not Elvis Presley but Priscilla Presley, with whom he was married for six years and had a daughter together. The film is based on Priscilla’s memoir “Elvis and Me” (1985) and tells her story mainly during marriage. Coppola’s films are known for their poignant portrayals of femininity and female characters. Cailee Spaeny stars and Jacob Elordi plays the king of rock ‘n’ roll.

• The Killers, David Fincher

Director David Fincher has made a name for himself in the movie industry with movies like Fight Club, Seven, and Gone Girl. It is very likely that Fincher will continue his previous success with his new psychological thriller “The Killer”. With Michael Fassbender (“X-Men”, “Inglorious Basterds”) and Tilda Swinton in the leading roles, the film sounds even more promising.

• Ferrari, Michael Mann

The story of the Italian racing driver and entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari is shown this year in a film biography by Michael Mann. Adam Driver, who recently shone in “House of Gucci” and “Marriage Story”, embodies Ferrari, among other things, during his marriage to Laura Ferrari (Penelope Cruz) and up to the Mille Miglia race in 1957, which had a catastrophic outcome.

• Maestro, Bradley Cooper

With “Maestro” Bradley Cooper is both in front of and behind the camera for the second time. After “A Star Is Born” (2019), Cooper returns to the music world. This time he plays the American composer Leonard Bernstein, who is best known for “West Side Story”. Cooper’s film is about both his legendary career and his complicated marriage to Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).

• Poor Things, Giorgos Lanthimos

The film “Poor Things” could be described as a feminist kind of “Frankenstein”. The Victorian science fiction comedy is based on an early 90’s novel by Alasdair Gray. The main character is played by Oscar winner Emma Stone. Other stars such as Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef and Margaret Qualley also star in the film, which is not scheduled to hit cinemas in Austria until late 2023.

• Memory, Michel Franco

Another Oscar winner will be on the screen at the festival this year. Michel Franco’s “Memory” is a relationship drama starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard.

• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson

Director Wes Anderson returns to cinemas for the second time this year with an all-star cast. With “Asteroid City” he had already received very good reviews in June. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a short film starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley, set to bring Roald Dahl’s short stories of the same name to life.

“A double dose of Wes Anderson this year with Asteroid City in Cannes AND The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar premiered in Venice next week.”

Works by controversial filmmakers

In addition to well-known US filmmakers such as Sofia Coppola, David Fincher and Wes Anderson, two works by controversial directors can also be seen in Venice this year. Both Woody Allen (“Coup de Chance”) and Roman Polanski (“The Palace”) bring controversial opinions about allegations of abuse.

Bradley Cooper was also accused of anti-Semitic ulterior motives when he had his nose artificially enlarged to embody his role as a Jewish composer.