How is Italian Cinema Doing? Not Bad, if you look from the Lido di Venezia.

Twelve films have been selected for the 81st edition of the Film Festival, running from August 28 to September 7. The works created in Italy are even more numerous when considering the entire schedule, showcasing a variety of genres, formats (from the lengthy series M to the short animated film Rak), and styles. According to Artistic Director Alberto Barbera, this diversity reflects the Italian cinema’s attempts to explore new paths.

Five of these films will compete for the Golden Lion, awarded by a jury chaired by Isabelle Huppert. Gianni Amelio returns with Campo di Battaglia, starring Alessandro Borghi and Gabriel Montesi as two inseparable childhood friends who become military doctors on opposing ideological fronts during the final year of World War I. The film is produced by Kavac Film, IBC Movie, and One Art, in collaboration with Rai Cinema.

Vermiglio, the second feature film by Maura Delpero, is set against the backdrop of the end of World War II in a large family. The film was shot over a year in the small town of Vermiglio in Val di Sole, Trentino, featuring Tommaso Ragno and many non-professional actors. Barbera has compared it to L’Albero degli Zoccoli.

Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza bring Iddu, a farcical story inspired by the life of Matteo Messina Denaro, the mafia boss who died eight months after his capture. Elio Germano plays the fugitive obsessed with his father, while Toni Servillo is the accomplice ready to betray him. The cast also includes Barbora Bobulova and Fausto Russo Alesi. This Italian-French co-production, by Indigo Film with Rai Cinema, will be released in theaters on October 10 by 01.

Luca Guadagnino, known for his international acclaim, directs Queer, filmed at Cinecittà and based on William S. Burroughs’ novel. Daniel Craig stars in this 1950s Mexico City-set story where the forty-year-old American William Lee meets Eugene Allerton, a young student just arrived in the city. The film is produced by Fremantle, The Apartment, and Frenesy Film Company.

Finally, the second female director in competition is Giulia Louise Steigerwalt, who presents Diva Futura. This film explores the 1980s porn star agency founded by Riccardo Schicchi, which launched stars like Ilona Staller and Moana Pozzi. The cast includes Pietro Castellitto, Barbara Ronchi, and Denise Capezza. Produced by Groenlandia and PiperFilm with Rai Cinema, it will be distributed by PiperFilm.

The festival will open with the premiere of Beetlejuice 2, the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s cult 1988 fantasy horror comedy. The follow-up, directed again by Burton and starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci, with Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe, is Out of Competition at the world’s oldest film festival.

Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, and John Turturro will also attend to present Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door. Brad Pitt and George Clooney pair up in Jon Watts’ Wolves, while Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones feature in Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist.

Jude Law will grace the Lido for Justin Kurzel’s The Order, and Angelina Jolie will attend for Pablo Larrain’s Maria, which also stars Italy’s Pierfrancesco Favino and Alba Rohrwacher.

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga headline the eagerly anticipated sequel Joker: Folie à Deux by Todd Phillips. Antonio Banderas and Nicole Kidman will also join the Lido for Halina Reijn’s Babygirl.