2024 Venice Film Festival Predictions: Todd Phillips, Fabrice Du Welz & Pablo Larraín

Date:

Joker: Folie a Deux
Dir. Todd Phillips
Prod: Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Joseph Garner

It would be kind of neat if the head jury person of the 2019 Venice Film Festival who feted Todd Phillips by bestowing the the Golden Lion for Joker would somehow face off in competition with her docu. After having seen the trailer flaunting the acting (plus singing) chops of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, this studio film has a legit shot at a second Lion. Along with Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Zazie Beetz, this takes us back to the moment after the murder of Murray Franklin live on television. Arthur Fleck is incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital, where he meets Harleen Quinzel. The two fall madly in love and experience musical madness through their shared delusions, while Fleck’s followers start a movement to free him from Arkham, ultimately giving rise to the Clown Prince of Crime’s criminal empire. Joker: Folie a Deux will receive an early October release.
Prediction: In Competition.

Le domaine
Dir. Giovanni Aloi
Prod: Thierry Lounas

Premiering his debut feature The Third War in the Horizons section in 2020, Giovanni Aloi landed onto a Netflix backed project for his third feature outing. Filmed in France this past October, Le domaine sees Félix Lefebvre, Raphaël Thiéry, Rachid Guellaz, Laika Blanc-Francard, Julien de Saint-Jean, Jules Dousset and Fadila Belkebla populate a tale that revolves around three youngsters who are hired to scare the owners of a hunting lodge but murder them instead.
Prediction: Out of Competition.

Les Arènes
Dir. Camille Perton
Prod: Ève Robin, Judith Lou-Lévy.

For her feature debut (shot last September), Camille Perton punted Iliès Kadri, Sofian Khammes, Edgar Ramirez and Grégoire Colin in the backdrops of Lyon, Nice, Monaco and Baku. Les Arènes follows Brahim, a rising soccer star who is about to sign his first contract at his prestigious hometown club. But when a mysterious and powerful agent disrupts the negotiations, Brahim discovers the shady side of the business. Torn between loyalty and money, he will engage in a race against time to claim his destiny.
Prediction: Venice International Critics’ Week.

Les règles de l’art
Dir. Dominique Baumard
Prod: Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral.

Wearing the writer’s cap on projects such as The Third War (2020), Vincent Must Die (2023), Les Indésirables (2023) and the television series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (2024), Dominique Baumard moves behind the director’s chair for a dramedy inspired by the true story of one of the biggest art thefts in history at Paris’ Modern Art Museum. Melvil Poupaud, Sofiane Zermani, Steve Tientcheu and Julia Piaton star in Les règles de l’art.
Prediction: Horizons Extra.

Leurs enfants après eux
Dir. Ludovic & Zoran Boukherma
Prod: Hugo Selignac, Alain Attal

After a pair of Cannes profiled films in Willy 1er (2016) and Teddy (2020), twin brothers Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma moved into an ambitious book to film adaption last summer with the likes of Paul Kircher, Angelina Woreth, Sayyid El Alami, Ludivine Sagnier, Anaïs Demoustier and Gilles Lellouche. Leurs enfants après eux follows three teenagers from a rural northern region across four summers, from 1992 to 1999 – and it is sprinkled with a costly soundtrack.
Prediction: Horizons.

Little Trouble Girls
Dir. Urška Djukić
Prod: Jožko Rutar, Miha Černec, David Cej, Katarina Prpić

A project that was workshopped at the Cannes Cinéfondation Residence and Torino Film Lab, Urška Djukić‘s feature debut is about a shy and sensitive teenage girl named Lucija (Jara Sofija Ostan) who, while growing up, has to navigate the expectations of her environment and the discovery of her own sexuality. The main question she has to find out the answer to is: who does her body belong to? Mina Švajger, Saša Tabaković, Nataša Burger, Lotos Vincenc Šparovec, Špela Frlic, Brane Završan and Mattia Casson also line up Little Trouble Girls – a project that was filmed in Italy and Ljubljana last summer.
Prediction: Venice International Critics’ Week.

Love
Dir. Dag Johan Haugerud
Prod: TBD.

We might one day talk about Dag Johan Haugerud‘s trio of films much like we did about Ulrich Seidl “Paradise” trilogy as after preeming Sex in Berlin (plus winning a trio of prizes), and setting up Dreams for a 2025 drop, we have an all hearts second item to break into the line-up. Love tells the story of Marianne, a pragmatic doctor, and Tor, a compassionate nurse, who both avoid conventional relationships. One evening, after a blind date, Marianne encounters Tor on a ferry. Tor often spends his nights there seeking casual encounters with men and shares his experiences of spontaneous intimacy and meaningful conversations. This stars Andrea Bræin Hovig, Toya C Jacobsen, Thomas Gullestad and Lars Jacob Holm. The Norwegian filmmaker premiered 2019’s Beware of Children (aka Barn) in Giornate degli Autori section.
Prediction: Horizons.

Lust
Dir. Ralitza Petrova
Prod: Poli Angelova, Ralitza Petrova

We were thinking that Bulgarian filmmaker Ralitza Petrova might be returning to Locarno — where she was Golden Leopard winner back in 2016 for her debut feature, Godless. Production on her sophomore film took place in December of last year on what the filmmaker says is a tale inspired by real events. Lust focuses on 40-something Lilian, forced to return to her native Bulgaria after becoming her estranged father’s heir. She wants nothing to do with his legacy, but a near-death experience delays her departure, forcing Lilian to address her life-long fear of commitment.
Prediction: Horizons.

Maldoror
Dir. Fabrice Du Welz
Prod: Jean-Yves Roubin, Cassandre Warnauts, Manuel Chiche

In what could be considered somewhat of a detour for the Belgian filmmaker, for his eighth feature film Fabrice Du Welz lassoed Anthony Bajon, Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Mélanie Doutey, Laurent Lucas, Jackie Berroyer, Alexis Manenti, Sergi Lopez and muse Béatrice Dalle for a based on real events narrative that shocked a nation. Maldoror centers around Paul Chartier, the newcomer, who devotes himself to “Operation Maldoror,” set up in the greatest secrecy to keep an eye on a notorious criminal, as two girls have just disappeared. Faced with the dysfunction of an uncoordinated and unstructured police system, Chartier suffers the failure of the operation and sinks into obsession. He then embarks on a solitary crusade against a tentacular evil that fractures him from every side… Du Welz’s 2008 film Vinyan was selected by the Venice Film Festival. Prediction: In Competition.

Maria
Dir. Pablo Larraín
Prod: Juan de Dios Larraín, Lorenzo Mieli, Jonas Dornbach

One of those buzzy films that might indeed follow the trifecta path of Telluride-Lido-Toronto, Pablo Larraín moved into production on another biopic about a famous women figure, Angelina Jolie toplines Maria and is surrounded by Valeria Golino, Haluk Bilginer, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino and Kodi Smit-McPhee in the tale about famous opera singer Maria Callas. It tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris. Larraín’s Post Mortem (200), Ema (2019) Spencer (2021) and El Conde (2023) have all premiered on the Lido.
Prediction: In Competition.

Mektoub: Canto Duo
Dir. Abdellatif Kechiche
Prod: Abdellatif Kechiche, Ghalya Lacroix.

With The Secret of the Grain (2006), Vénus Noire (2010) and Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno (2019), its entirely conceivable that Abdellatif Kechiche will indeed launch the second instalment (and third film) in the Mektoub tetralogy. Mektoub: Canto Duo is told from the POV of Amin (Shaïn Boumedine) who returns home to the South of France and reconnect with his family, childhood friends and his cousin Tony. He spends time between his parents restaurant, local bars and beaches frequented by girls on holiday.
Prediction: In Competition.

Milano
Dir. Christina Vandekerckhove
Prod: Jan De Clercq and Annemie Degryse.

We might find some Dutch language cinema in Belgium filmmaker Christina Vandekerckhove‘s debut. Starring Matteo Simoni and newcomer Basil Wheatley, Milano is about a 12 year-old boy who is able to hear, yet only expresses himself in sign language. As his single father tries to make ends meet he often leaves his son alone with his neighbour. But everything changes when his mother suddenly returns. Vandekerckhove comes from a docu background.
Prediction: Venice International Critics’ Week.

Modi
Dir. Johnny Depp
Prod: Barry Navidi, Johnny Depp

The last time he got behind the camera for a feature film was all the way back in 1997 for the Cannes premed The Brave. Fast-forward to September of last year, Johnny Depp landed in Budapest for a sophomore feature stocked with Riccardo Scamarcio, Pierre Niney and Al Pacino. Based on the play by Dennis McIntyre and adapted for the screen by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski, Modi follows the painter/sculptor in Paris in 1916. Long considered by himself a critical and commercial failure, Modigliani navigates a turbulent and eventful 48 hours that will become a turning point in his life, ultimately solidifying his reputation as an artistic legend. Nicola Pecorini was the cinematographer here.
Prediction: Out of Competition.

Mona
Dir. Anne-Sophie Bailly
Prod: David Thion

It might be a pretty cool prestige 2024 fests journey for this first time filmmaker. After seeing her co-written Dog on Trial (Le Procès du chien) directed by Laetitia Dosch hit Cannes, Anne-Sophie Bailly stands a chance at hitting up the Lido. Also going by the title “Mon inséparable,” Laure Calamy continues being a Venice good luck charm this time with Mona. Production took place last October on the tale about a relationship between a mother, Mona, who raised her disabled son alone and aspires to start caring for herself now that he’s a grown man. But when her son announces that he’s having a baby with his girlfriend, Mona finds herself with another heavy responsibility to bear.
Prediction: Horizons Extra.

Naples to New York
Dir. Gabriele Salvatores
Prod: Isabella Cocuzza, Arturo Paglia.

Having been to the Venice Film Festival on a handful of occasions beginning with his 1983 directorial debut in Dream of a Summer Night and more recently his 2019 feature Tutto il mio folle amore, we could see Gabriele Salvatores secure a spot with a story penned in the 1940s by a young Federico Fellini. Starring Pierfrancesco Favino, Dea Lanzaro, Antonio Guerra, Anna Lucia Pierro, Omar Benson Miller and Antonio Catania, Naples to New York is set in 1949, this is a story of two children who set off on a journey across the ocean, as stowaways on a ship, looking for a family and opportunity in America. Along the way, they encounter characters both well-meaning and nefarious, who cement their faith in humanity. Miller plays George, an American cook on an international merchant ship who befriends our two young Italian stowaways.
Prediction: Out of Competition.

Ni chaînes ni maîtres
Dir. Simon Moutaïrou
Prod: Nicolas Dumont, Hugo Sélignac

Shot last summer in Mauritius, scribe Simon Moutaïrou landed the likes of Ibrahima Mbaye, Anna Thiandoum, Camille Cottin, Benoît Magimel, Bass Dhem, Félix Lefebvre and Swala Emati for his directorial debut titled Ni chaînes ni maîtres. Set in 1759. Mauritius is in the hands of the Kingdom of France. Massamba and Mati, two slaves in the plantation of Eugène Larcenet (Benoît Magimel), live a life of fear and toil. He dreams for his daughter to be freed, while she longs to leave the green hell of sugarcane. One night, she runs away. Madame La Victoire (Camille Cottin), a famous slave huntress, is tasked with tracking her down. Massamba has no choice but to escape from the plantation in his turn. By doing so, he becomes a “maroon”, a fugitive who breaks forever with the colonial order…
Prediction: Out of Competition.

Nickel Boys
Dir. RaMell Ross
Prod: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine

Starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Ethan Herisse, Fred Hechinger, Hamish Linklater, Brandon Wilson, and Daveed Diggs, RaMell Ross‘ sophomore (and fiction debut) could be pushing for any or all of the big four with Telluride, Venice, Toronto and NYFF all targeted. Based on Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel, Nickel Boys is based on the historic reform school in 1960s Florida called the Dozier School for Boys, which was notorious for abusive treatment of students. It explores the story of Elwood Curtis, a young African-American boy who is sent to the Nickel Academy, a fictional version of the Dozier School, after he is falsely accused of a crime. While there, he meets a boy named Turner, and the two form a close friendship as they try to survive the horrors of the school and its corrupt administrators. Amazon MGM Studios will release this in late October. Ross gave us the masterwork Hale County This Morning, This Evening in 2018.
Prediction: In Competition.

On Falling
Dir. Laura Carreira
Prod: Jack Thomas-O’Brien, Rebecca O’Brien, Mário Patrocínio.

Starring Joana Santos, Inês Vaz, Piotr Sikora, Jake McGarry and Neil Leiper, Laura Carreira’s debut feature is backed by Ken Loach factory and tells the story of a Portuguese warehouse picker working in Scotland. Trapped between the confines of her workplace and the solitude of her flatshare, she seeks to resist the loneliness, alienation and ensuing small talk which begin to threaten her sense of self. Prior to On Falling, her short film “The Shift” premiered in Venice in 2020.
Prediction: Venice International Critics’ Week.

Opus 28
Dir. Sofia Bohdanowicz
Prod: Aonan Yang, Andreas Mendritzki

For the time being, after pitstops in Berlin, FIDMarseille and NYFF, the character of Audrey Benac (Deragh Campbell) has not yet set foot in Italy but perhaps the latest feature from Canuck Sofia Bohdanowicz might sejour here with this latest docu-fiction. Benac completes a thesis on Parlow, who becomes determined to mount a live public concert of “Opus 28”. Benac’s research takes her from Toronto to Oslo and back. Along the way, she meets Elisa (María Dueñas Fernández), who will perform Parlow’s violin solo.
Prediction: Giornate degli Autori.

Our Wildest Days
Dir. Vassilis Kekatos
Prod: Guillaume Dreyfus, Delphine Schmit

A Palme d’Or winner for his 2019 short “The Distance Between us and the Sky,” Greek filmmaker Vassilis Kekatos lassoed Daphné Patakia for his debut. A road movie, Our Wildest Days is about Chloe, 20 years old, leaves her dysfunctional family to follow a group of romantic outsiders and help the forgotten of society. During her travel through a shattered Greece, she will dream, fly, fall in love but also she’ll realise that the true rebels are always alone.
Prediction: Giornate degli Autori.

Oxana
Dir. Charlène Favier
Prod: Édouard Weil, Alice Girard

Last October, Slalom (Cannes 2020) filmmaker Charlène Favier climbed onto the true life tale of ex-FEMEN leader Oxana Chatchko. Oxana follows one specific day that begins wandering through Paris. Amid meetings with lovers and an art critic, and an appointment to confirm her political refugee status, memories of her past as a feminist activist, and the traumas and betrayals she suffered during her struggle, resurface. Can she rekindle her desire to live? Albina Korzh, Lada Korovai, Louka Meliava, Yoann Zimmer and Noée Abita are part of the ensemble.
Prediction: Giornate degli Autori.

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society) and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

Share post: