The 21 films vying for the Golden Lion prize at Venice

A picture shows the official logo of the 81st Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido, on Aug. 27, 2024, on the eve of the opening ceremony. With 21 films vying for the top Golden Lion prize, the 81st edition of the prestigious festival kicks off Aug. 28, with Lady Gaga, Daniel Craig and Brad Pitt expected on the red carpet during the 10-day affair. (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP)

VENICE, Italy — From the latest Almodovar to the much-anticipated sequel to “Joker,” 21 films are up for the prestigious Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival, which runs from Wednesday, Aug. 28, to Sept. 7.

1.) THE ROOM NEXT DOOR directed by PEDRO ALMODOVAR

with Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola (Spain / 107 minutes)

2.) CAMPO DI BATTAGLIA directed by GIANNI AMELIO

with Alessandro Borghi, Gabriel Montesi, Federica Rosellini (Italy / 103 minutes)

3.) LEURS ENFANTS APRES EUX directed by LUDOVIC BOUKHERMA, ZORAN BOUKHERMA

with Paul Kircher, Angelina Woreth, Sayyid El Alami, Gilles Lellouche, Ludivine Sagnier, Louis Memmi (France / 144 minutes)

4.) THE BRUTALIST directed by BRADY CORBET

with Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones (UK / 215 minutes)

5.) JOUER AVEC LE FEU directed by DELPHINE COULIN, MURIEL COULIN

with Vincent Lindon, Benjamin Voisin, Stefan Crepon (France / 110 minutes)

6.) VERMIGLIO directed by MAURA DELPERO

with Tommaso Ragno, Giuseppe De Domenico, Roberta Rovelli (Italy, France, Belgium / 119 minutes)

7.) IDDU (SICILIAN LETTERS) directed by FABIO GRASSADONIA, ANTONIO PIAZZA

with Toni Servillo, Elio Germano, Daniela Marra, Barbora Bobulova (Italy, France / 122 minutes)

8.) QUEER directed by LUCA GUADAGNINO

with Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman (Italy, USA / 135 minutes)

9.) KJAERLIGHET (LOVE) directed by DAG JOHAN HAUGERUD

with Andrea Braein Hovig, Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen, Marte Engebrigtsen (Norway / 119 minutes)

10.) APRIL directed by DEA KULUMBEGASHVILI

with Ia Sukhitashvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Merab Ninidze (Georgia, France, Italy / 134 minutes)

11.) THE ORDER directed by JUSTIN KURZEL

with Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Jurnee Smollett, Tye Sheridan, Marc Maron (Canada / 116 minutes)

12.) MARIA directed by PABLO LARRAIN

with Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Italy, Germany, USA / 123 minutes)

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13.) TROIS AMIES directed by EMMANUEL MOURET

with Camille Cottin, Sara Forestier, India Hair, Gregoire Ludig, Damien Bonnard, Vincent Macaigne (France / 118 minutes)

14.) EL JOCKEY (KILL THE JOCKEY) directed by LUIS ORTEGA

with Nahuel Perez Biscayart, Ursula Corbero, Daniel Gimenez Cacho (Argentina, Spain / 97 minutes)

15.) JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX directed by TODD PHILLIPS

with Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz (USA / 138 minutes)

16.) BABYGIRL directed by HALINA REIJN

with Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas (USA / 114 minutes)

17.) AINDA ESTOU AQUI (I’M STILL HERE) directed by WALTER SALLES

with Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro (Brazil, France / 135 minutes)

18.) DIVA FUTURA directed by GIULIA LOUISE STEIGERWALT

with Pietro Castellitto, Barbara Ronchi, Denise Capezza (Italy / 128 minutes)

19.) HARVEST directed by ATHINA RACHEL TSANGARI

with Caleb Landry Jones, Harry Melling, Rosy McEwen (UK, Germany, Greece, France, USA / 131 minutes)

20.) QING CHUN GUI (YOUTH – HOMECOMING) directed by WANG BING

Documentary (France, Luxemburg, Netherlands / 152 minutes)

21.) STRANGER EYES directed by YEO SIEW HUA

with Wu Chien-Ho, Lee Kang-Sheng, Anicca Panna, Vera Chen (Singapore, Taipei, France, USA / 125 minutes)