"For those who mock the state of cinema, they have no choice but to enter a screening hall showing Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' to realize that cinema is not on its deathbed, but rather that it can always be reborn, and it can also bear the vision of inspiration."

So said Venice Film Festival Director Alberto Barbera in his address to the press two days ago when unveiling the films for the 83rd edition of the venerable festival (the oldest in the world), which will be held from the 2nd to the 12th of September this year.

Cinema is a tool for understanding the world

The Italian festival's keenness to gather proof of this statement has resulted in dozens of films that critics or filmmakers cannot ignore, distributed across 7 parallel sections led by a competition of 20 films featuring a mix of established directors with distinguished historical backgrounds and newcomers stepping into the field of cinema with works reflecting the seriousness of their endeavors.

Barbera specified: "The films participating in this year's edition are a cushion of ideas affirming that cinema is an extraordinary tool for understanding the real world. All the major problems of present life are reflected [in the films] or carry their echoes."

One of the advantages of the Venice Film Festival is that its opening films are more effective and better than the opening films of the Berlin and Cannes festivals, which, alongside this Italian festival, make up the leading occasions in the festival world. The opening of Berlin's 76th edition (last February) was the German-Afghan film 'No Good Men', which attempted to belong to political event cinema, but was not as good and inspiring a work as it was a film urgently trying to raise its subject matter.

As for Cannes, it chose a frivolous film in both idea and execution to open its 79th edition in May of this year, namely the French film 'The Electric Kiss' by Pierre Salvadori, which was not worthy of opening a festival of the size and importance of Cannes.

As for the Venice Film Festival, this year it turned towards a film revolving around journalism and media freedom in 1996 when Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb founded 'The Sun' newspaper. The film is 'Ink' and the director is Danny Boyle, whose filmography includes the zombie film series that kicked off with '28 Days Later' in 2008. His new film was pre-sold to the Netflix platform, but its screening in Venice is its world premiere, just like all the films participating in the competition. This is the first time Boyle has participated in this festival.

Rooney and Kate Mara in 'Bucking Fastard' (Hanway Films).

Digging in every direction

Some of Venice's films this year will be distinguished by their bizarre subjects, foremost among them 'Bucking Fastard' by German director Werner Herzog, starring sisters Rooney Mara and Kate Mara. Herzog presents a thorny subject, revolving around twin girls who dig a tunnel to reach where they believe a world of pure love lies on the other side of the mountain. What distinguishes the film's presence is not only that it is the first time the two sisters have starred together in a single film, but also that Herzog had withdrawn it from the Cannes Festival in response to the French festival's desire to screen it out of competition.

One of the knights of new European cinema is Florian Zeller, who previously directed the successful film 'The Father' in 2020, followed by his (unsuccessful) film 'The Son' in 2022. His new film is 'Bunker', which is also rich in depth, as its story revolves around an engineer (Javier Bardem) digging a bunker for a billionaire while his wife (Penélope Cruz) discovers that the project her husband is dedicating himself to will affect their relationship and her love for him after 17 years of marriage.

There is a different kind of digging into the past provided by director Martin McDonagh through 'Wild Horse Nine', starring Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and John Malkovich. It revolves around two CIA agents (Rockwell and Malkovich) sent to Chile to assist the right-wing regime in 1973.

Penélope Cruz will be among the attendees this year (Warner)

Cruz, Bardem, the Mara sisters, as well as Malkovich and Rockwell will attend their film screenings, alongside Robert Pattinson (currently seen in 'The Odyssey'), representing the film 'Primetime', which revolves around a journalist who channels his investigations into a successful television program. The film is directed by Lance Oppenheim, who has a background in documentary cinema. This film is one of the American entries at this festival alongside 'Company' by Casey Affleck, and 'The Basics of Philosophy' by Paul Schrader, who previously wrote Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' before turning to directing and completing 30 films to date.

Entries by Arab directors

Other films participating in the competition include 'Return to Buenos Aires' by Italy's Marco Bechis, 'A Good Little Soldier' (Un Bon Petit Soldat) by France's Stéphane Brizé, and 'Look Back' by Korea's Hirokazu Kore-eda. Italy's Nanni Moretti will present 'It Will Happen Tonight', having previously been accustomed to screening his films at the Cannes Festival.

There is also an Arab film in competition by Egyptian director Ayten Amin—titled 'An Unknown Woman'—and a Palestinian documentary titled 'Citizen Osama' by Ahmed Hassouna (out of competition). The film depicts the life of a Palestinian man who has two inevitable duties: caring for his family and carrying out his successive tasks as a photojournalist, all amidst the inferno of what Gaza City is experiencing.

Poster of the film 'No Paradise If a Woman Kills You' by Kurdish-Iraqi origin Halkawt Mustafa

Also out of competition is 'No Paradise If a Woman Kills You' by Kurdish-Iraqi origin (Norwegian resident) Halkawt Mustafa, which follows an Iraqi female assassin returning to Iraq to rescue her sister held captive by ISIS elements. Palestinian filmmaker Muayad Alayan (living in Amsterdam) presents his new film 'Dialogue with the Sea'. This director has previously made several films, including 'A House in Jerusalem' (2023) and 'Reports on Sarah and Saleem' (2018), both of which present emotional dramas set in Palestine without being modern-leaning.

Lebanese director Rami Kodeih previously made a documentary titled 'Wheels of War' for Al Jazeera television. His new film may be his narrative debut, revolving around two women planning a bank robbery in the same year that saw the freeze on bank deposits in Lebanon.

Politics clings to the edges of the Venice Film Festival this year, as has been the case in previous years (and in many other festivals), but this stems from the Italian festival's commitment to a multiplicity of viewpoints rather than adopting them. Among these trends, alongside the aforementioned, is American director Barbara Kopple's documentary 'Union Town'. This film consists of 3 stories about American workers' demands in 3 institutions (including Amazon) for higher wages.

Another film related to politics, as a consequence of what is happening, is 'Dau' by Russian-born (stripped of his identity) Ilya Khrzhanovsky, which is screening in the official competition. There is also a co-produced Iranian film in this competition: 'A Little Light' by Ali Asgari. In contrast, there is an Israeli film by Amos Gitai titled 'The Road to Jericho', which revolves around the ongoing conflict in Gaza.