The return of Iñárritu or 'Blonde', the long-awaited 'biopic' of Marilyn Monroe, will compete at the Venice Film Festival

For its 90th birthday, the Venice Film Festival has given away two of the most anticipated films of the season.

, the return of the Mexican Alejandro G. Iñárritu seven years after

and

the biography of Marilyn Monroe by Andrew Dominik, with Ana de Armas as the myth, will compete for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded on September 10.

Filmmakers such as the Italian Luca Guadagnino, the Americans Darren Aronofsky and Laura Poitras or the Irish Martin McDonagh will compete for the main prize of the 79th edition of the oldest film competition in the world -between wars and protests, it was not held on several occasions, there that turns nine decades.

The Mostra also hosts

, the debut behind the camera by Juan Diego Botto, with Luis Tosar and Penélope Cruz (also the star of a film in competition), in the parallel section Horizontes, as well as a short film with Javier Bardem.

More information

Penélope Cruz wins the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for 'Madres Parallels', by Pedro Almodóvar

Apparently, his new film has changed Iñárritu even his way of “dreaming”.

This was reported by Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the contest, in the presentation on Tuesday.

And he defined the film as "the most personal work" of the creator of

or

.

With Guadagnino's new project,

he was even more blunt: "It is the most profound film about the marginalized USA made by someone who is not from there."

There will also be cannibals, and stars like Thimothée Chalamet.

Poitras, author of the Oscar-winning

, about Edward Snowden, presents another documentary,

, focusing on photographer Nan Goldin and the New York

of the seventies and eighties.

And McDonagh, who just in Venice began the acclaimed career of Three Billboards Outside,

something like a work by Samuel Beckett in Irish sauce, according to Barbera.

is also based on theater, both in its text and in its production: here is a film made in complete isolation by covid, all in the same room.

The Mexican Alejandro González Iñárritu was based on a novel by Michael Punke for the script of 'El Renacido' (The Revenant), shot mainly in Canada and Argentina.

In the photo he appears with the protagonist, Leonardo DiCaprio, and another member of the team.

The presentation of the programming offered some constants from recent years: some renowned director, various stars (there will be, among others, Sigourney Weaver, Monica Bellucci, Adam Driver, Colin Farrell, Ricardo Darín or Hugh Jackman), studios such as Netflix or Warner , a few bets on lesser-known authors, two series and oddities such as a Kazakh western or a documentary about a peculiar Ugandan rapper who became a deputy to combat the dictatorship of his country.

Barbera wanted to dedicate his first words to the invasion of Ukraine "at the hands of Putin's imperialism", which will also be shown in the documentary

, by Evgeny Afineevsky, out of competition;

the prison sentence faced by three Iranian filmmakers (the best known, Jafar Panahi, is competing at the festival from prison with his new film,

) and the Turkish production company

Çiğdem Mater, sentenced along with filmmaker Mine Özerden and five others “for planning a documentary, which was never made”, about the 2013 Gezi Park protests in Istanbul.

Penélope Cruz repeats double

Less firm, once again, the festival's commitment to creators is revealed:

Four years ago, Venice signed a manifesto, along with other major competitions, where it promised to seek equality based on sharing more information and being transparent about its selection process.

But the result hardly changes: this year, five female directors out of 22 films in the main competition.

The Italian Susanna Nicchiarelli films

a profile of Santa Clara in

, debut feature by French Alice Diop, narrates the hard process of a mother who puts an end to the life of her daughter;

her compatriot Rebecca Zlotowksi novel on the screen with

her tormented relationship with the filmmaker Jacques Audiard;

and

by the British Johanna Hogg, evokes "English ghost cinema", in the words of Barbera.

The director Luca Guadagnino, at the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival.Gian Mattia D'Alberto - LaPresse (AP)

Last year, Penélope Cruz starred in up to two films in competition.

And she won the Volpi Cup for best actress for

, by Pedro Almodóvar.

The interpreter repeats a double: to the debut of Juan Diego Botto she adds

by Emanuele Crialese, the story of a couple in crisis in Rome in the seventies, in official competition.

Completing the list of contenders for the Golden Lion are the August 31 opening film,

, by celebrated American director and screenwriter Noah Baumbach;

, by her compatriot Todd Field, where Cate Blanchett plays an orchestra conductor between notes and romances;

, a new filmic dive into the politics of Santiago Mitre, about the traumatic trial of the military junta;

, by the Iranian Vahid Jalilvand, about the conflicts that shake his country;

, a new leap from theater to cinema by Frenchman Florian Zeller, after the acclaimed

, by the French director Romain Gavras (son of Costa), which shows the social upheaval in a Parisian outskirts following a murder by the police;

same country and very different approach with

, where Roschy Zem offers “the first French film about a bourgeois North African family”, according to Barbera;

the familiar

, from Japanese Koji Fukada;

the umpteenth work of the tireless Frederick Wiseman, who at 92 years of age is still capable of surprising: for once, he is not presenting a very long documentary, but

, a barely one-hour film about the correspondence between the writer Lev Tolstoy and his woman

Sof'ja Tolstaja.

The usual Italian presence in the contest is reinforced by the veteran Gianni Amelio

the famous Braibanti case, which revolutionized plagiarism in his country;

and

, by Andrea Pallaoro.

Penélope Cruz poses with the Volpi Cup for best actress, which she won in the 2021 festival edition for her work in Pedro Almodóvar's 'Madres paralleles'. Franco Origlia (GETTY)

There will be exhibitions, the delivery of the Golden Lions to the race for Paul Schrader and Catherine Deneuve, the face-to-face return of parallel sections such as Venezia Classici or the section dedicated to virtual reality and

, the posthumous film by Korean Kim Ki-Duk, deceased by coronavirus.

Olivia Wilde will present her long-awaited

with echoes of

and Gianfranco Rosi will reveal how his strange documentary filmmaker's gaze fits in with a commissioned film focused on the Pope's travels.

Among such a tide of feature films, for once, Barbera wanted to make a special mention of several “extraordinary” short films: he quoted

, by Argentinean Lucrecia Martel.

And

by the British Sally Potter, starring Javier Bardem and Chris Rock.

Barbera said nothing about the famous Spanish actor, but he did stress that it is likely that the American comedian and performer will attend the gala screening.

Things of life, of fame.

And how they change when Will Smith slaps you.