Offbeat | George Clooney, Guillermo del Toro on Venice Film Fest slate

This year’s Venice Film Festival will include a crime comedy by George Clooney, a Guillermo del Toro fantasy and a Darren Aronofsky thriller.

Organizers announced a 21-film competition lineup yesterday that includes the Clooney-directed “Suburbicon,” the story of a home invasion gone wrong starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.

Also competing for the Golden Lion prize are del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” about a woman’s relationship with a sea creature, and Aronofsky’s “Mother!” starring Jennifer Lawrence.

The 74th Venice festival opens Aug. 30 in the canal-crossed Italian city with Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing,” about a man who decides to shrink himself. It closes Sept. 9 with Takeshi Kitano’s gangster thriller “Outrage Coda.”

The lineup also features films by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Ireland’s Martin McDonagh and Japan’s Hirokazu Koreeda.

Categories World