The Venice Film Festival just got a bit more star power. As is common during the lead-up to festivals, the Italian event has augmented its offering of films with a couple of projects featuring some superstar talent, including Tilda Swinton, Pedro Almodovar, and Regina King.
READ MORE: Venice 2020 Line-Up: New Films By Chloé Zhao, Luca Guadagnino, Kiyoshi Kurosawa & More
According to Deadline, the folks at Venice have announced that Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” and Pedro Almodovar’s “The Human Voice” are both being added to the Out of Competition lineup at this year’s event that is set to begin in less than a month. Both films help raise the anticipation level of Venice, which is set to become the first major festival since the entire film industry shut down months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we found out last week, Regina King’s directorial debut “One Night in Miami” is set to become one of the biggest titles to launch out of this year’s fall festival season, as it became one of the headliners at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. So, it makes sense that the feature would then be added to Venice, as we’ve seen this year’s festivals do away with the competitive nature of the relationships and allow for films to share the limelight between multiple events. King’s period drama about a young Cassius Clay (pre-Muhammad Ali) was recently picked up by Amazon Studios for distribution.
READ MORE: Regina King’s ‘One Night In Miami’ Goes To Amazon Studios
The big surprise, however, is the last-minute addition of Almodovar’s upcoming short film, “The Human Voice,” which stars none other than Tilda Swinton. While we are never surprised that a film directed by Almodovar is selected for a film festival, it wasn’t clear if this 30-minute short was going to be ready in time for Venice. “The Human Voice” follows the story of a woman that is desperately waiting for a phone call from her love and is based on a stage play by Jean Cocteau.
Swinton is also getting honored at this year’s Venice, as she is set to become the latest recipient of the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I am very excited about coming back to Venice in such a special year, with COVID-19 as involuntary guest,” said Almodovar. “Everything will be different, and I am looking forward to discovering it in person. It is an honor to accompany Tilda in a year in which she is receiving a very much deserved award. As a matter of fact, ‘The Human Voice’ is a festival of Tilda, a display of her infinite and assorted registers as an actress. It’s been a spectacle to direct her.”
The 2020 Venice Film Festival is expected to kick off on September 2. You can see a first look at “The Human Voice” below.
