Venice Film Festival bets on auteur cinema with Robert Pattinson and an Oasis documentary

Venice is betting on auteur cinema this year, with a lineup that notably excludes major Hollywood productions and streaming giants. The festival, running from September 2 to 12, will showcase 20 films competing for the Golden Lion, emphasizing independent and auteur productions.

Among the contenders is Lance Oppenheim's "Prime Time," starring Robert Pattinson, which delves into a US television program aimed at unmasking pedophiles. Festival director Alberto Barbera described the film as the true story of an unscrupulous NBC reality show host. Other competitive entries include Martin McDonagh's dark comedy "Wild Horse Nine," featuring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, and Florian Zeller's "Bunker," with Spanish stars Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz.

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This film tells the true story of the unscrupulous host of a disturbing NBC reality show.

The festival will open with Danny Boyle's film about Rupert Murdoch's media transformation. Chilean-Italian director Marco Bechis' "Ritorno a Buenos Aires," about an Italian doctor testifying against former military officials who kidnapped him in Argentina, will also compete. This focus on independent cinema marks a departure from last year, when Hollywood and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon premiered big-budget films.

The documentary "Don't Look Back in Anger," about the British rock band Oasis and their comeback tour, is an exception to the Hollywood absence, with the Gallagher brothers expected to attend. Another notable documentary is Alex Gibney's four-hour exploration of Elon Musk. The absence of major studios like Disney, Netflix, and Amazon from Venice follows their similar bypass of the Berlin and Cannes festivals earlier this year.

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The Gallagher brothers have promised that they will be in Venice.