Venice Film Festival to Feature ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ and Other Highly Anticipated Films

Venice Film Festival Welcomes “Joker: Folie à Deux”

The highly anticipated sequel to Todd Phillips’s acclaimed comic book film, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” featuring the extraordinary talents of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, will be vying for the prestigious Golden Lion at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. This announcement was made during a press conference on Tuesday, where festival organizers revealed the exciting lineup. This participation comes five years after the original “Joker” won the same coveted award at Venice’s 76th edition, ultimately leading to its two Oscar victories.

Phipps’s latest cinematic endeavor is set to face stiff competition for the Golden Lion, with a lineup that includes:

• Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, “The Room Next Door,” starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.
• Pablo Larraín’s biopic “Maria,” featuring Angelina Jolie as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas.
• Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’s short novel, “Queer,” which tells the story of a drug addict (played by Daniel Craig) undergoing withdrawal in Mexico City and becoming captivated by an American drifter (Drew Starkey).
• Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller “Babygirl,” starring Nicole Kidman as a manager who enters into a forbidden affair.
• Justin Kurzel’s gripping film “The Order,” featuring Jude Law as an F.B.I. agent investigating a white supremacist terrorist group.

In total, 21 films will compete for the top prize at the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival, scheduled to take place from August 28 to September 7. A nine-member jury, led by the acclaimed French actress Isabelle Huppert, will determine the Golden Lion winner, with the announcement made on the festival’s concluding day.

This year’s star-studded lineup reflects the industry’s recovery from the disruptions caused by last year’s Hollywood strikes. These strikes had a significant impact on the festival, leading to the withdrawal of projects like “Challengers,” directed by Guadagnino, and resulted in numerous actors and directors refraining from attending to comply with strike regulations.

During the press conference, Alberto Barbera, the festival’s artistic director, commented on “Joker: Folie à Deux,” stating that the film showcases Phoenix and Gaga’s characters in a psychiatric asylum, awaiting trial. He expressed excitement about the film’s unique narrative, noting that “nobody can imagine what Todd and his screenwriters have envisioned,” and praised Phoenix’s performance as “incredible.”

In addition to the competitive films, the festival has also announced some high-profile titles that will be screened out of competition. Among these is the much-anticipated “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” directed by Tim Burton, a sequel to his 1988 cult classic. This new installment sees Michael Keaton returning to reprise his role, alongside Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara.

Another notable out-of-competition entry is Jon Watts’s comedic thriller “Wolfs,” featuring George Clooney and Brad Pitt as professional fixers embroiled in a plot to cover up the same crime. The festival will also spotlight works from lesser-known directors, including Kiyoshi Kurosawa from Japan with his film “Cloud,” and Dea Kulumbegashvili from Georgia, showcasing her film “April.”

In recent years, the Venice Film Festival has earned a stellar reputation for debuting films that go on to become Oscar contenders. Last year, Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things,” starring Emma Stone, clinched the Golden Lion and Stone later won the Academy Award for Best Actress this year.