In a surprise twist no one saw coming The Coen Brothers’ initial anthology series, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, will be featuring at the 2018 Venice Film Festival as a full-length feature in the competition.
The film, which was declared a Netflix original, is made up of 6 of chaptered stories revolving around the American Frontier. As for chapter plot details, information is hard to find. Tim Blake Nelson stars as Scruggs alongside a cast that features names like Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits.
“We’ve always loved anthology movies, especially those films made in Italy in the Sixties which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme,” the Coens said in a statement. “Having written an anthology of Western stories we attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate.”
The 135-minute film will premiere at Venice and is expected to air on Netflix and in cinemas towards the end of the year. Just in time for Oscar season.
Also in the news – Steve McQueen’s Widows to open 62nd BFI London Film Festival
The announced list of films being shown at the Festival are:
VENEZIA 75 (COMPETITION)
First Man, dir: Damien Chazelle
The Mountain, dir: Rick Alverson
Doubles Vies, dir: Olivier Assayas
The Sisters Brothers, dir: Jacques Audiard
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, dirs: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Vox Lux, dir: Brady Corbet
22 July, dir: Paul Greengrass
Roma, dir: Alfonso Cuaron
Suspiria, dir: Luca Guadagnino
Werk Ohne Autor, dir: Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
The Nightingale, dir: Jennifer Kent
The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthiomos
Peterloo, dir: Mike Leigh
Capri-Revolution, dir: Mario Martone
What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire?, dir: Roberto Minervini
Sunset, dir: Laszlo Nemes
Frères Ennemis, dir: David Oelhoffen
Nuestro Tiempo, dir: Carlos Reygadas
At Eternity’s Gate, dir: Julian Schnabel
Acusada, dir: Gonzalo Tobal
Killing, dir: Shinya Tsukamoto
OUT OF COMPETITION
A Star Is Born, dir: Bradley Cooper
Mi Obra Maestra, dir: Gaston Duprat
Un Peuple Et Son Roi, dir: Pierre Schoeller
A Tramway In Jerusalem, dir: Amos Gitai
La Quietud, dir: Pablo Trapero
Shadow, dir: Zhang Yimou
Dragged Across Concrete, dir: S Craig Zahler
OUT OF COMPETITION – SPECIAL EVENT
The Other Side Of The Wind, dir: Orson Welles
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, dir: Morgan Neville
OUT OF COMPETITION – SPECIAL SCREENINGS
L’Amica Geniale, dir: Saverio Costanza
Il Diario Di Angela – Noi Due Cineasti, dir: Yervant Gianikian
OUT OF COMPETITION – NON-FICTION
A Letter To A Friend In Gaza, dir: Amos Gitai
Aquarela, dir: Victor Kossakovsky
El Pepe, Una Vida Suprema, dir: Emir Kusturica
Process, dir: Sergei Loznitsa
Carmine Street Guitars, dir: Ron Mann
Isis, Tomorrow. The Lost Souls Of Mosul., dirs: Francesca Mannocchi, Alessio Romenzi
American Dharma, dir: Errol Morris
Introduzione All’Oscuro, dir: Gaston Solnicki
Your Face, dir: Tsai Ming-Liang
1938 Diversi, dir: Giorgi Treves
Monrovia, Indiana, dir: Frederick Wiseman
Una Storia Senza Nome, dir: Roberto Ando
Les Estivants, dir: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
HORIZONS
Sulla Mia Pelle, dir: Alessio Cremonini (opening film)
Manta Ray, dir: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Soni, dir: Ivan Ayr
The River, dir: Emir Baigazin
La Noche De 12 Anos, dir: Alvaro Brechner
Deslembro, dir: Flavia Castro
The Announcement, dir: Mahmut Fazil Coskun
Un Giorno All’Improvviso, dir: Ciro D’Emilio
Charlie Says, dir: Mary Harron
Amanda, dir: Mikhael Hers
The Day I Lost My Shadow, dir: Soudade Kaadan
L’Enkas, dir: Sarah Marx
The Man Who Surprised Everyone, dirs: Natasha Merkulova, Aleksy Chupov
Memories Of My Body, dir: Garin Nugroho
As I Lay Dying, dir: Mostafa Sayyari
La Profezia Dell’Armadillo, dir: Emanuele Scaringi
Tel Aviv On Fire, dir: Sameh Zoabi
Jinpa, dir: Pema Tseden
Stripped, dir: Yaron Shani
SCONFINI (formerly Cinema in the Garden)
The Tree Of Life (Extended Cut), dir: Terrence Malick
Arrivederci Saigon, dir: Wilma Labate
Il Ragazzo Piu Felice Del Mondon, dir: Gipi
Il Banchiere Anarchio, dir: Giulio Base
Blood Kin, dir: Ramin Bahrani
Magic Lantern, dir: Amir Naderi
L’Heure De La Sortie, dir: Sebastien Marnier
Camorra, dir: Francesco Patierno
VENICE CLASSICS
They Live, dir: John Carpenter
The Night Porter, dir: Liliana Cavani
The Naked City, dir: Jules Dassin
Brick And Mirror, dir: Ebrahim Golestan
Street Of Shame, dir: Kenji Mizoguchi
Il Posto, dir: Ermanno Olmi
Last Year At Marienbad, dir: Alain Resnais
The Place Without Limits, dir: Arturo Ripstein
Adieu Philippine, dir: Jacques Rozier
The Ascent, dir: Larisa Shepitko
The Killers, dir: Don Siegel
The Killers, dir: Robert Siodmark
The Night Of The Shooting Stars, dirs: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Love, Thy Name Be Sorrow AKA The Mad Fox, dir: Toma Uchida
Death In Venice, dir: Luchino Visconti
The Golem – How He Came Into The World, dir: Paul Wegener
Nothing Sacred, dir: William A Wellman
Some Like It Hot, dir: Billy Wilder
VENICE CLASSICS – DOCUMENTARIES
The Great Buster, dir: Peter Bogdanovich
Women Making Films: A New Road Movie Through Cinema, dir: Mark Cousins
Humberto Mauro, dir: André Di Mauro
Living The Light – Robby Muller, dir: Claire Pijman
24/25 Il Fotogramma In Piu, dirs: Giancarlo Rolandi, Federico Pontiggia
Nice Girls Don’t Stay For Breakfast, dir: Bruce Weber
Friedkin Uncut, dir: Francesco Zippel
VENICE VIRTUAL REALITY (In Competition – Interactive)
Make Noise, dir: May Abdalla
The Unknown Patient, dir: Michael Beets
Buddy VR, dir: Chuck Chae
Umami, dir: Landia Egal
Eclipse, dir: Astruc Jonathan, Favre Aymeric
The Horrifically Virtual Reality, dir: Marie Jourdren
Spheres, dir: Eliza McNitt
A Discovery of Witches – Hiding in Plain Sight, dir: Kim-Leigh Pontin
The Roaming – Wetlands, dir: Mathieu Pradat
Kobold, dirs: Max Sacker, Ioulia Isserlis
Awavena, dir: Lynette Wallworth
VENICE VIRTUAL REALITY (In Competition – Linear)
Even In The Rain, dir: Lindsay Branham
Trail Of Angels, dir: Kristina Buozyte
X-Ray Fashion, dir: Francesco Carrozzini
Half Life VR – Short Version, dir: Robert Connor
Crow: The Legend, dir: Eric Darnell
Age Of Sail, dir: John Kahrs
Mindpalace, dirs: Carl Krause, Dominik Stockhausen
Ballavita, dir: Gerda Leopold
Borderline, dir: Assaf Machnes
Shennong: Taste Of Illusion, dirs: Mi Li, Wang Zheng
The Great C, dir: Steve Miller
L’Ile Des Morts, dir: Benjamin Nuel
Home After War, dirs: Gayatri Parameswaran, Felix Gaedtke
Made This Way: Redefining Masculinity, dirs: Elli Raynai, Irem Harnak
Lucid, dir: Pete Short
The Last One Standing VR, dirs: Wang Jiwen, Liu Yang
Fresh Out, dirs: Wey Sam, Tao Fangchao
1943: Berlin Blitz, dir: David Whelan
Rooms, dir: Christian Zipfel
OUT OF COMPETITION – BEST OF VR (Interactive)
VR_I, dirs: Gilles Jobin, Caecilia Charbonnier, Sylvain Chagué
OUT OF COMPETITION – BEST OF VR (Linear)
Battlescar, dirs: Nico Casavecchia, Martin Allias
Arden’s Wake: Tide’s Fall, dir: Eugene YK Chung
Ghost In The Shell: Virtual Reality Diver, dir: Higashi Hiroaki
Isle Of Dogs: Behind The Scenes (In Virtual Reality), dirs: Paul Raphael, Felix Lajeunesse
Tales Of Wedding Rings VR, dir: Sou Kaei
OUT OF COMPETITION – BIENNALE COLLEGE CINEMA – VR (Linear)
In The Cave, dir: Ivan Gergolet
Elegy, dir: Marc Guidoni
Metro Veinte: Cita Ciega, dir: Maria Belen Poncio
Floodplain, dir: Deniz Tortum
BIENNALE COLLEGE
Zen Sul Ghiaccio Sottile, dir: Margherita Ferri
Deva, dir: Petra Szöcs
Yuva, dir: Emre Yeksan
