2021 Venice Film Festival Starry Line-Up Includes 'Dune,' 'Last Night In Soho,' 'Last Duel,' And More

In 2020, the Venice Film Festival was just one of many events to be affected by the pandemic, though it managed to avoid cancelation in favor of a "more restrained format" under strict COVID protocols. This year, however, the availability of vaccines seems to have allowed the highly-anticipated festival to be back and as exciting as ever. Headlined by some major filmmaker names that include Jane Campion, Denis Villeneuve, Ridley Scott, Edgar Wright, and Pedro Almodovar, the 78th annual Venice Film Festival will take place from September 1-11 and is sure to have something for every type of film fanatic out there.

The most popular highlight is probably Villeneuve's upcoming epic Dune, the latest and most ambitious attempt to adapt Frank Herbert's challenging novel. Also premiering will be The Last Duel, Ridley Scott's return to historical epics starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck (which we recently got an extended peek at). Not to be outdone, Edgar Wright is going completely off-script from what we tend to expect from the comedic and action-junkie filmmaker with Last Night in Soho, billed as a psychological-thriller and also set for its world premiere at Venice.

Other notables include actor Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut with The Lost Daughter, the Kristen Stewart-starring Princess Diana biopic titled Spencer (from Pablo Larrain, who directed the excellent Jackie), and also the HBO limited series Scenes From a Marriage, starring Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac (who has no less than three separate entries in this year's festival).

Check out the full line-up of hopefuls below.

Parallel Mothers | Pedro Almodovar | SpainMona Lisa and the Blood Moon | Ana Lily Amirpour | United StatesUn Autre Monde | Stephane Brizé | FranceThe Power of the Dog | Jane Campion | New Zealand, AustraliaAmerica Latina | Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo | Italy, FranceL'Evenement | Audrey Diwan | FranceOfficial Competition | Gaston Depart, Mariano Cohn | Spain, ArgentinaIl Buco | Michelangelo Frammartino | Italy, France, GermanySundown | Michel Franco | Mexico, France, SwedenLost Illusions | Xavier Giannoli | FranceThe Lost Daughter | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Greece, United States, U.K., IsraelSpencer | Pablo Lorrain | Germany, United StatesFreaks Out | Gabriele Mainetti | Italy, BelgiumQui Rido Io | Mario Martone | Italy, SpainOn The Job: The Missing 8 | Eric Matti | PhilippinesLeave No Traces | Jan P. Matuszyski | Poland, France, Czech RepublicCaptain Volkonogov Escaped | Yuriy Borisov | Russia, Estonia, FranceThe Card Counter | Paul Schrader | United States, United Kingdom, ChinaThe Hand of God | Paolo Sorrentino | ItalyReflection | Valentin Vasyanovych | UkraineLa Caja | Lorenzo Vigas | Mexico, United States

Il Bambino Nascosto | Roberto Andò | ItalyLes Choses Humaines | Yvan Attal | FranceAriaferma | Leonardo Di Costanzo | Italy, SwitzerlandHalloween Kills | David Gordon Green | United StatesLa Scuola Cattolica | Stefano Mordini | ItalyOld Henry | Potsy Ponciroli | United StatesThe Last Duel | Ridley Scott | United States, United KingdomDune | Denis Villeneuve | United States, Hungary, Jordan, UAE, Norway, CanadaLast Night in Soho | Edgar Wright | United Kingdom