Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere, Sigourney Weaver Headline Venice Talks Lineup

The Venice Film Festival is just over two weeks away, bringing starry talent back to the Lido in water taxis after a year off for many due to the strikes in 2023 . The Biennale has unveiled its Conversations and Masterclasses lineup, with a richer program and in a new and larger (250 seats) location at the Match Point Arena, set up at the Tennis Club Venezia on the Lido.

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Four Masterclasses will be held by directors and performers, including the actress Sigourney Weaver (recipient of the Golden Lion for Career) on Thursday, August, 29; filmmaker Peter Weir (Golden Lion for Career) on Sunday, September 1, and his 2003 film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” also screens during the festival; actor/filmmaker Ethan Hawke on Monday, September 2; and Pupi Avati, director of closing night film “L’orto Americano” on Friday, September 6. All can be followed via live stream at labiennale.org .

Organized by Cartier, in collaboration with La Biennale, three Conversations of The Art and Craft of Cinema will include a chat with composer Nicola Piovani (Oscar winner for “Life Is Beautiful”) and filmmaker Cristina Comencini on Saturday, August 31; director Claude Lelouch (recipient of Venice’s Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker award) with singer, composer and actress Barbara Pravi (respectively, the director and star of the out-of-competition film “Finalement”) on Saturday, August 31; and actor Richard Gere with his Italian voice actor, Mario Cordova, on Sunday, September 1. Gere’s Cannes premiere “Oh Canada,” directed by Paul Schrader , premieres in theaters later this year.

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The 81st Venice Film Festival launches Wednesday, August 28 and ends Saturday, September 7 with an awards ceremony honoring the official selection. The festival opens with Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Competition premieres include Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer,” Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria,” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door.” The filmmaker-heavy competition jury is led by Isabelle Huppert alongside directors James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, and Julia von Heinz, and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.