The lineup for the Venice Film Festival announced on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, and will be the first major film event since the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
Iranian drama "Sun Children" from director Majid Majidi will be screened in the official competition. The drama about children who must work to support their families.
Eighteen other films from across the world will be competing in the section.
In the Orizzonti category, “The Wasteland”(Dashte Khamoush) by Ahmad Bahrami and Careless Crime(Jenayat-e bi deghat) by Shahram Mokri will be competing with 17 other movies.
Iranian filmmakers are frequent visitors to the Venice festival every year.
In 2017, Vahid Jalilvand from Iran won the award for best director for his drama “No Date, No Signature” in the Orizzonti Competition while its star, Navid Mohammadzadeh, was picked as best actor.
This year, eight films(out of 18) with female directors that will compete for the Golden Lion.
The festival is also due to give life achievement Golden Lions to veteran Hong Kong actor-director Ann Hui and British actor Tilda Swinton, while Cate Blanchett has been installed as the competition jury president.
The festival is expected to go ahead with reduced numbers of delegates and social distancing protocols in place, as well as more screenings in outdoor venues. The associated film market will move online, as will the festival’s ambitious virtual reality competition, which has operated since 2017 on Venice’s Lazzaretto Vecchio island.