Gravity
Venice Film Festival 2013 gets underway today, and there is an excellent line-up of movies from around the globe to enjoy over the next week or so.
This is an exciting time for the film industry as we are going to see some of the Oscar contenders stake their claim - is there an Oscar nominee lurking in the Venice Film Festival line-up?
We take a look at some of the movies that you cannot miss if you are heading to the festival between now and the 7th September.
Gravity - directed by Alfonso Cuaron.
Gravity is already one of the most talked about movies of the year, and this is the film that is going to open the festival tonight.
Gravity sees Alfonso Cuaron return to the director’s chair and this is a film that is already being tipped as a possible Oscar contender come the new year.
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney team up for the first time as a pair of astronauts that get stranded in space when a routine space walk goes terribly wrong.
Cuaron is no stranger to delivering great science fiction films - Children of Men being one of the stands out movies in this genre - and it looks like he could have delivered another cracker.
Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring.
But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone - tethered to nothing but each other and spiralling out into the blackness.
Philomena - directed by Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears has made some wonderful movies throughout his career, and for Philomena he teams up with Judi Dench.
Written by Steve Coogan the movie is based on a true story of Philomena, the woman who spends her life looking for her son after giving him up for adoption.
Judi Dench has taken on the title role while Coogan will play journalist Martin Sixsmith; the movie is based on the book The Lost Child Of Philomena Lee, by Sixsmith.
Philomena promises to not only be one of the most powerful and emotional films at the Venice Film festival but of the autumn.
A Judi Dench performance is always something to get excited about, while it is great to see Coogan take on a more serious role.
The Zero Theorem - directed Terry Gilliam
It has been quite some time since we have seen Terry Gilliam in the director’s chair; The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was his last movie back in 2009.
He is set to return to the science fiction genre with his new film The Zero Theorem - a film that will be seen for the first time at the Venice Film Festival.
Double Oscar winner Christoph Waltz is set to take on the central role in the film, while Matt Damon, Ben Whishaw and Tilda Swinton are all also on the cast list.
The movie follows a computer hacker who has been tasked with the goal of discovering the reason for human existence; but his work is always getting interrupted.
If you are looking for a movie that is a little left field at Venice Film Festival, then look no further as The Zero Theorem is the one for you.
Gilliam has delivered some fantastic sci-fi projects over the years and The Zero Theorem promises to be another not to miss.
Locke - directed by Steven Knight
We haven’t see Tom Hardy on the big screen since he starred as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises last summer, but now he is back with his new film Locke.
We have already been treated to the first Locke clip this week, and now film fans are going to see the whole film as it makes its debut at the festival.
Steven Knight brought us Hummingbird earlier this summer, but Locke will see him team up with Hardy for the very first time.
Ivan Locke has worked hard to craft a good life for himself. Tonight, that life will collapse around him.
On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul.
The Wind Rises - directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Studio Ghibli movies are some of the most fantastic animation movies to hit the big screen - we have already been treated to one of them this year in the form of From Up On Poppy Hill.
And now Hayao Miyazaki is back in the director’s chair to deliver the highly anticipated The Wind Rises; this will be the first film for the director since Ponyo.
Miyazaki has been behind some of the studio’s greatest films with the likes of Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke over the years.
The Wind Rises looks at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during the Second World War.
Studio Ghibli animation movies are not to be missed and The Wind Rises promises to be another triumph.
Venice Film Festival 2013 runs 28th August - 7th February.
Tagged in Venice Film Festival