The 81st Venice International Film Festival runs from 28 August to 7 September 2024 at the Venice Lido. Directed by Alberto Barbera under La Biennale di Venezia, whose president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco confirmed the jury appointments in May 2024, the festival features an official poster designed by Lorenzo Mattotti for the seventh consecutive year – depicting an elephant in the lagoon, unveiled on 21 July 2024 (La Biennale, 2024).
The Venezia 81 Competition jury is chaired by French actress Isabelle Huppert, announced on 8 May 2024. Huppert won the Coppa Volpi for best actress at Venice twice – Story of Women (1988) and La Cérémonie (1995) – and received a Special Golden Lion for Overall Work in 2005. She was nominated for her first Academy Award in 2017 for Elle and received the Honorary Golden Bear at Berlin in 2022. Eight jury members join her: James Gray (USA), whose Little Odessa won the Silver Lion at Venice in 1994; Andrew Haigh (UK), whose All of Us Strangers received multiple BAFTA nominations; Agnieszka Holland (Poland), a three-time Oscar nominee whose Green Border won the 2023 Venice Special Jury Prize; Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil), 2019 Cannes Jury Prize winner for Bacurau; Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania), who directed Timbuktu, the first Mauritanian Oscar-nominated film; Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy), Oscar winner for Cinema Paradiso (1989); Julia von Heinz (Germany); and Zhang Ziyi (China) (Variety, 2024).
Barbera called Huppert “an immense actress. Demanding, curious and of great generosity,” adding that her “ability to look at cinema beyond geographic and mental boundaries” made her ideal for a festival “open to the entire world” (Deadline, 2024). The jury awards the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor and Actress, Best Screenplay, Special Jury Prize, and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
The festival opens on 28 August with Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, screened out of competition. The sequel – starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe – is released by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally from 4 September 2024 and in North America on 6 September 2024. Closing film on 7 September is The American Backyard by Pupi Avati. Italian actress Sveva Alviti hosts both ceremonies at the Sala Grande in the Palazzo del Cinema.
Two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement are presented: American actress Sigourney Weaver at the opening ceremony, with a video tribute from director James Cameron, and Australian director Peter Weir during the festival. Weaver, a three-time Oscar nominee, said: “I proudly accept this award in celebration of all who have helped bring these films to life.” Weir, whose films include Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, and Master & Commander, became the first Australian filmmaker awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2022 (La Biennale, 2024).
Twenty-one feature films compete for the Golden Lion. Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door, his first English-language feature, stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore as friends confronting mortality and received a 17-minute standing ovation at its premiere. Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, a 215-minute epic shot in 70mm, stars Adrien Brody as a Hungarian architect immigrating to post-war America. Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux features Joaquin Phoenix alongside Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn; Phillips’ original Joker won the Golden Lion in 2019 before grossing over $1 billion worldwide (IndieWire, 2024).
Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, adapted from William S. Burroughs, stars Daniel Craig. Pablo Larraín’s Maria casts Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas; Larraín previously launched Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021) from Venice. Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here is a political drama set during Brazil’s 1970s dictatorship. Justin Kurzel’s The Order stars Nicholas Hoult, Jude Law, and Tye Sheridan. Additional competition entries include Halina Reijn’s Babygirl with Nicole Kidman, Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Harvest, and Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April.
The awards ceremony on 7 September produced the following results: Golden Lion for Best Film to Pedro Almodóvar for The Room Next Door, which he dedicated to his family, saying “the spirit is Spanish.” Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize to Maura Delpero for Vermiglio, an Italian-French-Belgian co-production set in a Dolomites village at the end of the Second World War. Silver Lion for Best Director to Brady Corbet for The Brutalist. Coppa Volpi for Best Actress to Nicole Kidman for Babygirl, accepted by director Halina Reijn due to Kidman’s absence following her mother’s death. Coppa Volpi for Best Actor to Vincent Lindon for The Quiet Son. Best Screenplay to Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega for I’m Still Here. Marcello Mastroianni Award to Paul Kircher for And Their Children After Them. Special Jury Prize to Dea Kulumbegashvili for April (La Biennale, 2024).
Attendance confirmed the festival’s growth: 94,703 tickets sold to the public, up 14% from 83,266 in 2023. Industry accreditations rose 6.5% to 13,866. Venice Immersive bookings totalled 12,069, a 7% increase. The Venice Production Bridge registered 3,135 accreditations, up 8%. Seven masterclass sessions drew 1,700 participants. From 4,138 submitted films across 59 countries, 83 were screened in all sections (La Biennale, 2024).
Sources:
1. La Biennale di Venezia. “Finalised the International Jury for the Venezia 81 Competition.” labiennale.org, 10 July 2024. <https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/finalised-international-jury-venezia-81-competition> 2. La Biennale di Venezia. “Official awards of the 81st Venice International Film Festival.” labiennale.org, 7 September 2024. <https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/official-awards-81st-venice-international-film-festival> 3. La Biennale di Venezia. “I numeri della Biennale Cinema 2024.” labiennale.org, 8 September 2024. <https://www.labiennale.org/it/news/i-numeri-della-biennale-cinema-2024>
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Venice Film Festival 2024: Full Competition Lineup Announced
