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VENICE 2019

The Lido awaits the names of this year’s stars and directors

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- With just one week to go until the line-up unveiling, rumours are circulating on the likely Lido guests, namely Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, James Gray, Mario Martone, Ulrich Seidl and Roy Andersson

The Lido awaits the names of this year’s stars and directors
Hirokazu Kore-eda, Jessica Palud, Pietro Marcello, Mario Martone, Robert Guédiguian, Roy Andersson, Ulrich Seidl, Fabienne Berthaud and Roman Polanski

Ahead of the press conference set to be delivered by festival director Alberto Barbera on 25 July, the only thing we know for sure about the 76th Venice Film Festival is that the Golden Lion for Career Achievement will go to both Pedro Almodovar, who recently competed in the Cannes Film Festival with Pain & Glory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Banderas
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile
]
, and the great British actress and director Julie Andrews. There are, however, a number of rumours doing the rounds as regards the films which might be in the running for the awards that will be handed out by an international jury, presided over by the Argentine director Lucrecia Martel, or those which might grace the festival’s parallel sections. As always, the Lido-based event, which will be opened by its “godmother” Alessandra Mastronardi on the evening of Wednesday 28 August, may have a few surprises up its sleeve, in true Alberto Barbera style. Featuring amongst the most anticipated names are, unsurprisingly, Martin Scorsese, with his Netflix film The Irishman - although apparently it might not be ready in time - and Woody Allen with A Rainy Day in New York, which had been at a standstill for some time following the resurfacing of allegations against the director in the US. And then there’s An Officer and a Spy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the new film by Roman Polanski on the Dreyfus Affair (read the news), and James Gray’s Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt.

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The great Italian masters, such as Nanni Moretti and Gianni Amelio, are all hard at work on their films at the moment, and the only confirmed name among them is Mario Martone (who has already competed in Venice five times) with The Mayor of Rione Sanità [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Martone
film profile
]
. And while Giorgio Diritti might be in with Hidden Away [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giorgio Diritti
film profile
]
, Pietro Marcello’s much anticipated Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile
]
is almost a given, as are certain works in parallel sections such as Giornate degli Autori, namely Mio fratello rincorre i dinosauri [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Stefano Cipani
film profile
]
by Stefano Cipani and 5 Is The Perfect Number [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Igort
film profile
]
, which Igort adapted from his own graphic novel. Carlo Sironi’s first work Sole [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlo Sironi
film profile
]
, meanwhile, a co-production with Poland, stands a good chance at being selected for the Orizzonti section. In terms of TV series, the new season of The Young PopeThe New Pope [+see also:
series review
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
series profile
]
 by Paolo Sorrentino might make an appearance on the Lido, as might Zero Zero Zero by Stefano Sollima, based upon Roberto Saviano’s homonymous novel.

Getting back to the international titles, Netflix might be travelling to Venice with Noah Baumbach’s new and as yet unnamed film featuring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver; The Two Popes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fernando Meirelles
film profile
]
 by Fernando Meirelles, starring Jonathan Pryce in the role of Bergoglio and Anthony Hopkins as Ratzinger; The King [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by David Michôd and; The Laundromat by Steven Soderbergh, starring Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman and revolving around the leak of the Panama Papers. Another possible and welcome film would be Ema by Pablo Larraín, starring Gael García Bernal. The Festival would also happily open its arms to The Truth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hirokazu Kore-eda
film profile
]
, the first film Hirokazu Kore-eda has shot outside of Japan (starring Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke - news), Anthony Chen and A Wet Season, and - steering the topic back to the Old Continent - the two Belgians Jessica Woodworth & Peter Brosens with The Barefoot Emperor [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Woodworth
film profile
]
, Austria’s Ulrich Seidl with Rimini [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ulrich Seidl
film profile
]
and Golden Lion winner Roy Andersson with About Endlessness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile
]
. Hailing from France, meanwhile, aside from the titles mentioned in our previous article (Gloria Mundi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Guédiguian
film profile
]
by Robert Guédiguian is in pole position), Jessica Palud’s Back Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
should make it to the Orizzonti section, while the names of Dominik Moll with Seules les bêtes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile
]
 and Fabienne Berthaud with A Bigger World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabienne Berthaud
film profile
]
 are also being thrown into the hat.

Now considered by the Americans to be an effective springboard towards the Oscars, Venice might also host the screening of Jojo Rabbit [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Taika Waititi, also starring Scarlett Johansson, The Woman in the Window by Joe Wright, starring Amy Adams, Gemini Man by the two-time Golden Lion champion Ang Lee, whose cast is led by Will Smith, Doctor Sleep by Mike Flanagan, originally written by Stephen King and now starring Ewan McGregor, Lucy in the Sky by Fargo screenwriter Noah Hawley and starring Natalie Portman, and Knives Out by Rian Johnson. There’s also space for independent US films such as Wendy by Benh Zeitlin and Seberg [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Benedict Andrews, with Kristen Stewart leading the cast and telling the life story of Jean Seberg. Last but not least, there’s speculation over the US blockbusters Joker by Todd Phillips, starring Joaquin Phoenix, and the fifth chapter in the action thriller saga Rambo: Last Blood by Adrian Grunberg.

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(Translated from Italian)

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