The Best Movies Coming To The Venice Film Festival

The Venice Film Festival has become one of the best events in film. The movies are exciting and the red carpets outfits continually top the Met Gala's outfits if you ask me, and there is a *lot* of drama (remember Don't Worry Darling's Spitgate, absolutely wild press conference, and all the memes about Florence Pugh with her aeperol spritz? That was all Venice, baby.)

Because of the writers' and SAG-AFTRA actors'strikes, the festival has already shifted its schedule — Challengers, starring Zendaya, The Crown's Josh O'Connor, and West Side Story's Mike Faist is no longer the opener — but it still promises an exciting slew of fall movies. Here are the standouts.

Maestro

Image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia

Bradley Cooper stars as Leonard Bernstein in this biopic, which focuses on the relationship between Leonard and actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (played by Carey Mulligan). It's a love letter to life, and presents family, love, and art in a gripping and mesmerizing way.

Origin

Image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia

Origin is writer and director Ava DuVernay's latest film. Inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, the film explores the systems of race and hierarchy that have defined the American experience. It stars Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Nick Offerman.

Priscilla

Image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia/A24

If you loved last year's Elvis (I can now count myself among you because I *finally* watched it), then you'll want to add Priscilla to your watchlist. Based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, this A24 film is directed by Sofia Coppola and stars Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi. It examines the relationship between Priscilla and Elvis, but it also gives Priscilla the space to explore womanhood and identity.

Ferrari

Image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia

Starring Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz, Ferrari opens with Formula 1 ex-racer Enzo Ferrari in crisis. It's 1957, and he's trying to avoid bankruptcy while also mourning the loss of his son. He risks it all for the Mille Miglia, a 1,000-mile race across Italy that changes everything.

Poor Things

Image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia

Emma Stone's Belle sets off with a lawyer on the adventure of a lifetime after she's brought back to life by a quirky scientist. While this film was supposed to hit theaters the same month it premiered, it was delayed until December due to the strikes.

Finally Dawn (Finalmente l'alba)

Image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia

Starring Joe Keery, Willem Dafoe, and Lily James, Finally Dawn follows teenage ingenue Mimosa, who's hired as a film extra. However, her personal coming-of-age gets interrupted when the body of aspiring actress Wilma Montesi washes up at the beach.

Memory

Image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia

Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard star as a love-struck couple trying to build and strengthen a relationship shadowed by trauma. The film explores memory, identity, and trust, three themes I know the actors will knock out of the park.

Which movie from the Venice Film Festival are you excited for? Out of all of these, I cannot wait for Finally Dawn! Let us know which film you're eyeing in the comments!

Lead image via Venice Film Festival/La Biennale di Venezia/A24