In Competition

A Street In Palermo (It-Switz-Fr)

Dir Emma Dante

Dante’s directorial debut follows two women - played by Dante and Elena Cotta - who face one another at the wheels of their respective cars in an extremely narrow street on a hot summer day. Alba Rohrwacher also stars. Renowned theatre director and actress Dante’s first feature, known in Italy as Via Castellana Bandiera, is an adaptation of her own novel. Italy’s Vivo Film and Offside are co-producing with Switzerland’s Ventura Film.

Contact Films Distribution, info@filmsdistribution.com

Ana Arabia (Israel-Fr)

Dir Amos Gitai

Israeli auteur Gitai has screened several films in Venice - including Lullaby To My Father out of competition last year - and returns to the Lido with Ana Arabia. Filmed in a single 85-minute shot, it captures a slice of life in a small community of outcasts, Jews and Arabs, who live together in a forgotten border enclave in Israel.

Contact Agav Films, agav@amosgitai.com

Child Of God (US)

Dir James Franco

Prolific actor-turned-director Franco comes to Venice with this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s dark novel about a violent loner, set in 1960s Tennessee. Scott Haze, Tim Blake Nelson and Jim Parrack star. Child Of God then goes on to play in Toronto.

Contact Rabbit Bandini, genevieve@jameslevymanagement.com

Jealousy (Fr)

Dir Philippe Garrel

Venice regular Garrel cast his son Louis in Jealousy (La Jalousie), which also stars Anna Mouglalis and Emanuela Ponzano and centres around a man who lives with a young woman, and has a child with another woman he has left. Garrel won a Silver Lion at Venice in 1991 for his film J’Entends Plus La Guitare and again in 2005 for Regular Lovers.

Contact Wild Bunch, obarbier@wildbunch.eu

Joe (US)

Dir David Gordon Green

From the director of Undertow, All The Real Girls and Prince Avalanche, Joe stars Nicolas Cage as an ex-con who meets a 15-year-old boy and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin. CAA is handling US rights to the film, which was produced by Worldview Entertainment, Dreambridge Films, Muskat Filmed Properties and Rough House Pictures. It also screens in Toronto.

International contact WestEnd Films, www.westendfilms.com; US contact CAA, filmsales@caa.com

L’Intrepido (It)

Dir Gianni Amelio

Amelio won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1998 with Cosi Ridevano. His latest film, L’Intrepido, stars Italian comedian Antonio Albanese as a middle-aged man in Milan trying to weather the economic crisis. Palomar and Rai Cinema produced.

Contact Rai Trade, mattia.odone@rai.it

Miss Violence (Gr)

Dir Alexandros Avranas

The second feature from Without director Avranas centres around the suicide of an 11-year-old girl, and stars Themis Panou, Reni Pittaki, Christos Loulis, Yiota Festa, Minas Hatzisavvas and Eleni Roussinou. The film also plays in Toronto.

Contact Elle Driver, adeline@elledriver.eu

Night Moves (US)

Dir Kelly Reichardt

Acclaimed US indie director Reichardt’s latest feature stars Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard as environmental activists who plot to blow up a hydro-electric dam. Reichardt co-wrote the script for Night Moves with Emmy nominee Jonathan Raymond. Her 2010 film Meek’s Cutoff played in competition at Venice. Night Moves also plays in Toronto.

International contact The Match Factory, info@matchfactory.de; US contact UTA, info@unitedtalent.com

Parkland (US)

Dir Peter Landesman

Journalist turned film-maker Landesman makes his directorial debut with this drama set in Dallas’s Parkland Hospital after JFK’s assassination in 1963, based on Vincent Bugliosi’s book Reclaiming History: The Assassination Of President John F Kennedy. The ensemble cast includes Zac Efron, Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton and Jacki Weaver. The film goes on to play in Toronto.

Contact Exclusive Media, info@exclusivemedia.com

Philomena (UK)

Dir Stephen Frears

UK stalwart Frears returns with the story of a woman (Judi Dench) searching for her adult son who was taken away from her decades earlier when she was forced to live in a convent. Steve Coogan co-stars. The Weinstein Company snapped up rights for US, UK and Spain during Cannes. Coogan, Tracey Seaward and Gabrielle Tana produce. Frears’ The Queen earned the best actress award in Venice for Helen Mirren in 2006. Philomena goes on to play in Toronto.

Contact Pathé International, sales@patheinternational.com

The Police Officer’s Wife (Ger)

Dir Philip Gröning

Gröning’s drama follows a police officer who lives with his wife and young daughter in a small town and becomes increasingly consumed with work, leading to conflicts. Gröning, who won a Sundance special jury prize for his 2005 documentary Into Great Silence, served as jury president for Venice’s Orizzonti section in 2006.

Contact The Match Factory, info@matchfactory.de

The Rooftops (Alg-Fr)

Dir Merzak Allouache

Veteran Algerian film-maker Allouache’s latest feature, following his 2012 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight entry The Repentant, which won the Cannes Europa Cinemas Label, is a multi-narrative fiction feature set in Allouache’s neighbourhood in Algiers. Adila Bendimerad, Nassima Belmihoub and Ahcene Benzerari star.

Contact Elle Driver, adeline@elledriver.eu

Sacro GRA (It)

Dir Gianfranco Rosi

Italian director Rosi’s latest documentary, which was shot over the course of three years, explores life on the highway that circles Rome. Rosi is no stranger to Venice, as his documentary Below Sea Level won the Orizzonti documentary award in 2008.

Contact Doc & Film International, international@docandfilm.com

Stray Dogs (Tai-Fr)

Dir Tsai Ming-liang

Taiwanese director Tsai’s Stray Dogs (formerly titled Diary Of A Young Boy) is the only Chinese film in competition at Venice this year, and follows a father and son as they scrape together a meagre living in modern-day Taipei. He won a Golden Lion for best picture in 1994 for Vive L’Amour.

Contact Urban Distribution International, contact@urbandistrib.com

Tom At The Farm (Can-Fr)

Dir Xavier Dolan

Quebec film-maker Dolan, whose last film Laurence Anyways played in Cannes in 2012, also stars in Tom At The Farm (Tom A La Ferme), based on a play by Michel Marc Bouchard. It tells the story of a gay man who travels to the country to attend the funeral of his lover, only to discover no-one knew about his sexuality. The film also plays in Toronto.

Contact MK2, intlsales@mk2.com

Tracks (UK-Aus)

Dir John Curran

We Don’t Live Here Anymore director Curran tells the story of the 1,700-mile trek across the deserts of west Australia by Australian writer Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska) in 1977 with four camels and a faithful dog. Curran’s 1998 debut Praise won Toronto’s Fipresci prize. Tracks also plays at Toronto.

Contact HanWay Films, info@hanwayfilms.com

Under The Skin (UK-US)

Dir Jonathan Glazer

Glazer’s long-gestating third feature after Sexy Beast and Birth stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien taking on human form during a journey through Scotland. Nick Wechsler and James Wilson produce the adaptation of Michel Faber’s popular novel. Glazer’s Birth was in competition at Venice in 2004. Under The Skin also plays in Toronto.

Contact FilmNation, info@wearefilmnation.com

The Unknown Known (US)

Dir Errol Morris

The latest film from the Oscar-winning director of The Fog Of War is a study of former US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld. It is one of two documentaries competing for the Golden Lion - the first time documentaries have been included in Venice’s competition line-up. It has been snapped up by The Weinstein Company’s Radius-TWC label in the US, and also plays in Toronto.

Contact HanWay, info@hanwayfilms.com

The Wind Rises (Jap)

Dir Hayao Miyazaki

The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu), the latest animation from Japanese master Miyazaki is a fictionalised biography of Jiro Horikoshi, who invented the Mitsubishi Zero fighter plane. It is already a hit in Japan, where it opened in July. Miyazaki received a career Golden Lion at Venice in 2005.

Contact Wild Bunch, obarbier@wildbunch.eu

The Zero Theorem (UK-Rom)

Dir Terry Gilliam

Gilliam’s first film since The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus in 2009 stars Christoph Waltz as a computer hacker trying to discover the reason for human existence, alongside Matt Damon, Ben Whishaw and Tilda Swinton. Pat Rushin wrote the script. Gilliam picked up a Silver Lion at Venice in 1991 for The Fisher King, while The Brothers Grimm also played at the festival.

Contact Voltage Pictures, sales@voltagepictures.com

Out of competition

A Promise (Fr)

Dir Patrice Leconte

Leconte’s film is based on a novel by Stefan Zweig and is set during the First World War. Rebecca Hall and Alan Rickman star in the story of a woman who falls for her husband’s assistant. Leconte’s Man On The Train was at Venice in 2002. A Promise (Une Promesse) also plays in Toronto.

Contact Wild Bunch, obarbier@wildbunch.eu

Gravity (US)

Opening night film

Dir Alfonso Cuaron

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star as a medical engineer and a veteran astronaut stranded in space, in Cuaron’s sci-fi feature - the first 3D film to open Venice. Cuaron’s Y Tu Mama Tambien and Children Of Men won awards when they played at the festival, while his Gravity co-writer Jonas Cuaron premiered his directorial debut Year Of The Nail during Critics’ Week at Venice in 2007. Clooney is a Lido regular. The film also plays in Toronto.

Contact Warner Bros, info@warnerbros.com

Harlock: Space Pirate (Jap)

Dir Shinji Aramaki

Based on Leiji Matsumoto’s manga, this 3D anime - one of Japan’s most expensive films with a $30m budget - is set in 2977 and follows the adventures of Captain Harlock who rebels against Earth’s oppressors.

Contact GFM Films, general@gfmfilms.co.uk

How Strange To Be Called Federico (It)

Dir Ettore Scola

Scola comes out of retirement for his first film since People Of Rome in 2003. This is a tribute to Federico Fellini, constructed with archive footage and re-enactments. It will be released in Italy in the autumn to mark the 20th anniversary of Fellini’s death.

Contact Istituto Luce, s.agnoli@cinecittaluce.it

Home From Home - Chronicle Of A Vision (Ger-Fr)

Dir Edgar Reitz

Almost a decade after Reitz’s feted Heimat series, the director returns with a fourth instalment, focusing on the period 1840-43 when thousands of people emigrated from Germany to Brazil to escape famine. Christian Reitz produced alongside Les Films du Losange and ARD Degeto with public broadcasters ARTE, WDR and BR.

Contact ARRI Media Worldsales, worldsales@arri.de

Locke (UK)

Dir Steven Knight

Knight’s second directing gig following Hummingbird stars Tom Hardy as a man who races to save his own life after receiving a mysterious phone call. The Eastern Promises screenwriter has also penned the script for Locke, a 90-minute thriller shot in real time. He reteams with IM Global, Paul Webster, Joe Wright and Guy Heeley’s Shoebox Films, following their collaboration on Hummingbird.

Contact IM Global, info@imglobalfilm.com

Moebius (S Kor)

Dir Kim Ki-duk

The Golden Lion-winning director (for Pieta last year) has attracted controversy in his home country after having to cut scenes of incestuous sex from his latest film. Moebius is described as “the process of a man who has grown up in a home wrecked by his father’s infidelity”.

Contact Finecut, cineinfo@finecut.co.kr

Unforgiven (Jap)

Dir Lee Sang-il

Hula Girls director Lee is back with a Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Oscar winner Unforgiven, set in 1880s Japan with a cast including Ken Watanabe, Jun Kunimura and Yuya Yagira. Lee also wrote the script for the film, which goes on to play in Toronto.

Contact Warner Entertainment Japan, william.ireton@warnerbros.com

Walesa. Man Of Hope (Pol)

Dirs Andrzej Wajda, Ewa Brodzka

Wajda and Brodzka direct this biopic of former dockworker and Polish president Lech Walesa. Wajda received a Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at Venice in 1998 and an honorary Oscar in 2000. The film also plays in Toronto.

Contact Films Boutique, cristina@filmsboutique.com

Wolf Creek 2 (Aus)

Dir Greg Mclean

The sequel to 2005 Australian horror film Wolf Creek sees John Jarratt reprise his role as sadistic pig-shooter Mick Taylor, preying on unsuspecting backpackers for another outback killing spree. It is one of four Australian films playing at Venice this year.

Contact Arclight Films, clay@arclightfilms.com

Orizzonti

Algunas Chicas (Arg)
Dir Santiago Palavecino

Eastern Boys (Fr)
Dir Robin Campillo

Fish & Cat (Iran)
Dir Shahram Mokri

Il Terzo Tempo (It)
Dir Enrico Maria Artale

Je M’Appelle Hmmm… (Fr)
Dir Agnes B

Little Brother (Kaz)
Dir Serik Aprymov

Medeas (US-It)
Dir Andrea Pallaoro

Palo Alto (US)
Dir Gia Coppola

Piccola Patria (It)
Dir Alessandro Rossetto

La Prima Neve (It)
Dir Andrea Segre

Ruin (Aus)
Dirs Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Michael Cody

The Sacrament (US)
Dir Ti West

Still Life (UK-It)
Dir Uberto Pasolini

La Vida Despues (Mex)
Dir David Pablos

We Are The Best! (Swe-Den)
Dir Lukas Moodysson

Why Don’t You Play In Hell? (Jap)
Dir Sion Sono

Wolfschildren (Ger)
Dir Rick Ostermann