The 81st Venice Film Festival kicks off

The 81st Venice Film Festival kicks off tonight, Wednesday, August 28, and will run until September 7, 2024. This edition of the festival will see the return of many stars, especially Hollywood stars who were absent last year due to the famous strike.

Venice Film Festival Opening Events The American film “Beetlejuice” directed by Tim Burton is scheduled to be screened during the opening ceremony. It stars Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Justin Theroux, and will be released internationally starting September 4.

The festival’s international jury will be chaired by French artist Isabelle Huppert, and will be joined by James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz, and Zhang Ziyi.

Twenty-one films are participating in the official competition for feature films for the first time, including the second part of the famous American film “Joker” starring Joaquin Phoenix, and the American film “Baby Girl” which focuses on the relationship between a female manager in a company and a young male employee.

Arab films at the Venice Festival This session of the festival will also witness the participation of four Arab films, including two Egyptian films. The first film is titled “ Searching for an Exit for Mr. Rambo ,” directed by Khaled Mansour, starring Essam Omar, Reem Saad, and Sama Ibrahim, and produced by Mohamed Hefzy. The film tells the story of a young man who is forced to confront his fears and rediscover himself when he goes on a journey to save his dog.

The second film is titled “Perfumed with Mint,” which is the first experience of director Mohamed Hamdy. It is scheduled to be shown as part of the “Critics’ Week” program. The film tells the story of two friends who become hounded by everyone because of the mint smell emanating from them.

Among the participating Arab films is the Tunisian film “Aicha,” directed by Mehdi Barsaoui. The film tells the story of a woman who flees her life in her small town, after miraculously surviving a bus accident.

The fourth film is a Palestinian film titled “Happy Holidays” by Palestinian director Iskandar Kobiti, which takes place in contemporary Israel, where a minor incident in Jerusalem leads to an escalation of a series of events.