Venice Film Festival has an impressive, if controversial, directorial lineup amid strike

The dual Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes have not put a stop to the Venice Film Festival. The event may be a little less glamorous—no beautiful movie stars arriving in water taxis—but the festival has nevertheless garnered an impressive collection of movies with big-name directors for its lineup. The festival kicks off on August 30 and will feature films from Ava DuVernay, Bradley Cooper, and, um, Woody Allen.

Yes, the 80th annual Venice Film Festival has attracted some of the most notable filmmakers alive, though some have become less notable for their films than for the controversies attached to their names. Both Woody Allen and Roman Polanski have films premiering in Venice out of competition. Allen, who has faced renewed scrutiny over allegations that he molested his daughter Dylan Farrow in the 1990s, will debut his 50th film, the French language feature Coup De Chance. Allen is expected to attend the festival, per Deadline. Polanski, who was charged with rape of a minor, will screen his film The Palace. Meanwhile, Luc Besson, who was cleared of rape charges earlier this year, has his new film DogMan screening in competition.

Controversy is not the only thing on the lineup at Venice. Sofia Coppola, David Fincher, Yorgos Lanthimos, Pablo Larrain, and Cooper are among those screening new films in competition. DuVernay will make festival history as the first African American filmmaker to screen in competition with her new film Origin, per Deadline. Out-of-competition screenings include Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Harmony Korine’s Aggro Dr1ft, and Richard Linklater’s Hit Man.

Announcing the list of films today, festival chief Alberto Barbera said that the 2023 lineup had been confirmed before SAG-AFTRA officially went on strike, per Deadline. Only Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers pulled out in the wake of the work stoppage; the rest of the American films invited “have been confirmed and will be present in the festival.” Babylon and La La Land director Damien Chazelle will serve as jury president. You can check out the full list of films below.

VENEZIA 80 COMPETITON

Comandante, dir: Edoardo de Angelis (opening night film)
The Promised Land, dir: Nikolaj Arcel
DogMan, dir: Luc Besson
La Bête, dir: Bertrand Bonello
Hors-Saison, dir: Stéphane Brizé
Enea, dir: Pietro Castellitto
Maestro, dir: Bradley Cooper
Priscilla, dir: Sofia Coppola
Finalmente L’Alba, dir: Saverio Costanzo
Lubo, dir: Giorgio Diritti
Origin, dir: Ava DuVernay
The Killer, dir: David Fincher
Memory, dir: Michel Franco
Io Capitano, dir: Matteo Garrone
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
The Green Border, dir: Agnieszka Holland
Die Theorie Von Allem, dir: Timm Kroger
Poor Things, dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
El Conde, dir: Pablo Larrain
Ferrari, dir: Michael Mann
Adagio, dir: Stefano Sollima
Woman Of, dirs: Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert
Holly, dir: Fien Troch

OUT OF COMPETITION

Fiction

Coup de Chance, dir: Woody Allen
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, dir: Wes Anderson
The Penitent, dir: Luca Barbareschi
L’Ordine del Tempo, dir: Liliana Cavani
Vivants, dir: Alix Delaporte
Daaaaaal!, dir: Quentin Dupieux
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, dir: William Friedkin
Aggro Dr1ft, dir: Harmony Korine
Hit Man, dir: Richard Linklater
The Palace, dir: Roman Polanski
Snow Leopard, dir: Pema Tseden
Society of the Snow, dir: J.A. Bayona (closing film)

Short
Welcome to Paradise, dir: Leonardo Di Costanzo

Non-Fiction

Hollywoodgate, dir: Ibrahim Nash’at
Amor, dir: Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Ryuichi Sakamoto Opus, dir: Neo Sora
Frente a Guernica (Version Integrale), dirs: Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi
Enzo Jannacci Vengo Anch’io, dir: Giorgio Verdelli
Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros, dir: Frederick Wiseman

Series

D’Argent et de Sang (episodes 1-12), dirs: Xavier Giannoli, Frederic Planchon
I Know Your Soul (episodes 1&2), dirs: Alen Drljevic, Nermin Hamzagic

Special Screening

La Parte del Leone: Una Storia della Mostra, dirs: Baptiste Etchegary, Guiseppe Bucchi

HORIZONS EXTRA

Bota Jone, dir: Luana Bajrami
Forever Forever, dir: Anna Buryachkova
The Rescue, dir: Daniela Goggi
In the Land of Saints and Sinners, dir: Robert Lorenz
Day of the Fight, dir: Jack Huston
Felicita, dir: Micaela Ramazzotti
Pet Shop Boys, dir: Olmo Schnabel
Stolen, dir: Karan Tejpal
L’Homme d’Argile, dir: Anais Tellenne

HORIZONS

A Cielo Abierto, dirs: Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga
El Paraiso, dir: Enrico Maria Artale
Behind the Mountains, dir: Mohamed Ben Attia
The Red Suitcase, dir: Fidel Devkota
Tatami, dirs: Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Paradise Is Burning, dir: Mika Gustafson
The Featherweight, dir: Robert Kolodny
Invelle, dir: Simone Massi
Hesitation Wound, dir: Selman Nacar
Heartless, dirs: Nara Normande, Tiao
Una Sterminata Domenica, dir: Alain Perroni
City of Wind, dir: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Explanation for Everything, dir: Gabor Reisz
Gasoline Rainbow, dirs: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
En Attendant la Nuit, dir: Céline Rouzet
Housekeeping for Beginners, dir: Goran Stolevski
Shadow of Fire, dir: Shinya Tsukamoto
Dormitory, dir: Nehir Tuna

VENICE CLASSICS

Non-Fiction

Bill Douglas My Best Friend, dir: Jack Archer
Le Film Pro-Nazi d’Hitchcock, dir: Daphne Baiwir
Thank You Very Much, dir: Alex Braverman
Landrian, dir: Ernesto Daranas Serrano
Un Altra Italia Era Possibile, Il Cinema Di Guiseppe De Santis, dir: Stefano Della Casa
Michel Gondry Do It Yourself, dir: François Nemeta
Ken Jacobs From Orchard Street to the Museum of Modern Art, dir: Fred Riedel
Frank Capra: Mr America, dir: Matthew Wells
Dario Argento Panico, dir: Simone Scafidi