MILAN — Recharge your batteries and have a relaxing summer vacation, because the cinematographic school opening and red carpet return events promise to be intense.
When organizers of the 81st Venice International Film Festival announced the event’s lineup on Tuesday, both moviegoers and fashionistas had high expectations for the upcoming edition, which runs from August 28 to September 7.
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Leading directors from Tim Burton to Pedro Almodóvar, Todd Phillips to Luca Guadagnino are scheduled to come together at Venice’s iconic Lido, alongside a star-studded cast including Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, Michael Keaton and Monica Bellucci.
As announced earlier this week, the event will open with the world premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the long-awaited sequel to one of Burton’s most famous works. Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara will reprise their original roles, and new cast members including Burton’s current partner Bellucci; Justin Theroux; Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe will join in. Dafoe, meanwhile, will become an increasingly regular in Venice, as the actor was recently appointed as the new artistic director of the Venice Biennale theater department for the 2025-26 period.
Pitt is among the producers of Burton’s new film, which will be presented out of competition in Venice and will be released in North American theaters on Sept. 6. The American actor may also be in Venice for his major role in “Wolfs,” an out-of-competition film from “Spider-Man” saga director Jon Watts, in which Pitt stars alongside his longtime friend Clooney.
Meanwhile, Pitt’s ex-wife Jolie is expected to attend the premiere of Pablo Larraín’s biopic “Maria,” about Maria Callas’ final years in Paris.
The film is among 21 films competing at the festival, competing against other major motion pictures including Todd Phillips’ highly anticipated psychological thriller “Joker: Folie À Deux,” in which Phoenix will reprise his role as the lead actor for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2020. Phoenix will be joined in this sequel by Lady Gaga, who will play his character’s love interest Harley Quinn. The actress is likely to deliver one of the event’s biggest fashion moments, following in the footsteps of her 2018 Venice Film Festival appearance. When she arrived at the premiere of “A Star Is Born” wearing a Valentino organza gown covered in dazzling pink feathers.
It’s not yet known which designer she’ll choose for her return to the Venice red carpet, but she’ll face some serious fashion competition from Swinton and Moore, who lead the cast of another major film competing at the festival, Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door,” which will be his first English-language feature.
While Chanel and Bottega Veneta looks may appear in the fashion crystal ball, with Swinton and Moore proving their love for those brands respectively, it’s quite possible that a Loewe outfit will also appear somewhere on the red carpet. Of course, Daniel Craig, who emerged as the star of the viral Loewe fall 2024 menswear ad campaign earlier this month, stars in the new film “Queer,” directed by Guadagnino, who is also friends with Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson.
The historical romantic drama, set in 1940s Mexico City and adapted from William S. Burroughs’ 1985 novel, is billed as one of Guadagnino’s most intimate projects. Craig is expected to shed new light on his acting talents, as he will be stepping beyond his longtime role as British secret service agent James Bond to play an outcast American immigrant who falls in love with a young man played by Drew Starkey. Meanwhile, Guadagnino will reportedly be pulling double duty during the festival, as he will also be acting as artistic director of the Homo Faber artisan exhibition, which will be on display in Venice from September 1-30.
Other names expected to appear in Venice include Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult, who star in Justin Kurzel’s “The Order,” as well as the cast of “The Brutalist,” including Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn and Guy Pearce.
They will be joined by the stars of the out-of-competition series “Disclaimer,” directed by Alfonso Cuarón, including Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Indira Varma, Louis Partridge and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as Venice Film Festival regular Cate Blanchett.
Also expected at the Lido is French actress Isabelle Huppert, who will head the international jury that will select and hand out awards at the closing ceremony. These awards included the Golden Lion for best film, which was awarded last year to Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things.” The jury, announced earlier this month, will include eight international names, including directors James Gray, Andrew Haigh and Giuseppe Tornatore, as well as Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.
Side fashion events are expected to add to the busy agendas of movie stars and directors. Miu Miu usually hosts talks with actors during the screening of the latest installment of its Women’s Stories project, which consists of short films, while long-standing festival sponsors such as Armani Beauty and Chanel have established a tradition of hosting glamorous gatherings after dusk.
There will also be no shortage of representation from the music world, with Grammy-winning singer Kelly Rowland reportedly heading to the lagoon to perform at the annual Venice amfAR gala, which will be held at the Hangar Nicelli venue on September 1.
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