Venice 83: Oasis are coming and Nanni Moretti is back. Cruz and Bardem on the red carpet

A faint murmur ripples through the library hall of the Biennale’s Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts, where the press conference to present the programme for the 83rd Venice Film Festival (2–12 September) is taking place, when the artistic director, Alberto Barbera, announces that the Gallagher brothers are on their way. The ‘Monster’ section, out of competition, features the documentary Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger, conceived by screenwriter, producer and director Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, A Thousand Blows), and directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace (Shut Up and Play the Hits, New York: The Rebirth of Rock and Roll), which will be in Italian cinemas from 10 September and available to stream on Disney+ by the end of the year.

It will be a real challenge to contain the flood of fans arriving at the Lido to pay tribute to Liam and Noel. This is a real coup for the Festival, which has managed to secure the much-heralded and hotly contested documentary chronicling the triumphant Oasis Live ’25 reunion – one of the most eagerly anticipated rock comebacks of recent years – and, above all, to have the stars themselves in the flesh on the red carpet.

The other major news is Nanni Moretti’s return to Venice following the rift that occurred in 1989 over Palombella rossa, the exceptional film that had foreshadowed the political instability of the Italian left and had not been accepted into the competition. Barbera mentions the rift but does not elaborate on it. Moretti returns following Tre piani, adapting a book by the Israeli writer Eschkol Nevo, Succederà questa notte, which was tipped to go to Cannes. The plot follows the emotional journeys of four tenants living in the same block of flats in an Israeli city, starring Louis Garrel, Jasmine Trinca, Angela Finocchiaro and Hippolyte Girardot. Controversy is guaranteed, with protests expected.

Twenty films have been selected for the main competition at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, and among them are five Italian films in the running for the Golden Lion. Alongside Nanni Moretti, Marco Bechis returns to the world of the beautiful Garage Olimpo with Ritorno a Buenos Aires, a fictional film based on his own dramatic personal experience. Il fuoco che ti porti dentro by Edoardo De Angelis, starring Vanessa Scalera, inspired by the book of the same name – a tribute by Antonio Franchini to his mother; *The Echo Chamber* by Andrea Pallaoro, adapted from Bernardo Bertolucci’s final screenplay, and *L’estranea* by Paolo Strippoli, starring Jasmine Trinca, Romana Maggiora Vergano and Adriano Giannini, which tells the story of a family entangled in secrets and lies.

Barbera listed the international guests – who are already stars or cult directors in their own right – in alphabetical order. First of all, the Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement were already known; they will be awarded to Ellen Burstyn and George Clooney. The opening film is also known: Ink by Danny Boyle, 28 years after Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire. Ink recounts the acquisition of the newspaper *The Sun* by publisher Rupert Murdoch, who entrusted its management to Larry Lamb, eventually turning it into Britain’s best-selling tabloid.