Venice Critics’ Week, the sidebar dedicated to first-time filmmakers, unveiled the selection of seven competition features and two out-of-competition titles for its 39th edition, which runs Aug. 28-Sept. 7.
Among the more timely entries is from U.S. director Michael Premo.
The documentary follows three far-right activists as they campaign for Donald Trump during the tumultuous 2020 election. U.S-French filmmaker Alexandra Simpson makes her Venice debut with , a drama set against the backdrop of a Florida coastal town in the lead-up to a hurricane.
Other Venice Critics’ Week competition highlights include , from UK-French director Jethro Massey, about an American photographer and a French girl who bond over a dark game involving the reenactment of notorious crimes at their original locations; , from Iranian-Italian director Milad Tangshir, a modern-day immigrant story inspired by Italian neorealist classic ; and , a female-focused drama from Vietnamese filmmaker Dương Diệu Linh, about a woman who enlists a spell master to win back her unfaithful husband after discovering his infidelity on live television. Venice Critics’ Week will kick off with the out-of-competition screening of French director Aude Léa Rapin’s , a cyberpunk sci-fi film featuring Adèle Exarchopoulos ( ), and close with Lawrence Valin’s , a drama set in Paris’ Tamil community. Critics’ Week artistic director Beatrice Fiorentino noted that this year’s selection addresses current global uncertainties.
“We cannot avert our eyes from the images of the present,” Fiorentino said. Competing films are eligible for several awards, including the €10,000 ($10,890) Grand Prize. The Venice Film Festival will unveil its main lineup on Tuesday, July 23.
The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7.
Check out the fill Venice Critics’ Week lineup below. Dir. Aude Léa Rapin France, Belgium Dir.
Milad Tangshir Italy Dir, Dương Diệu Linh Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia Dir. Michael Premo United States Dir. Alexandra Simpson United States, Switzerland Dir.
Jethro Massey United Kingdom Dir. Bernhard Wenger Austria, Germany P Dir. Muhammed Hamdy Egypt, France, Tunisia Dir.
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