Co-produced by Turkey, France and Qatar, Turkish director Emin Alper's Frenzy will compete for the Golden Lion.
Starring Mehmet Ozgur and Berkay Ates, the film follows two estranged brothers as they fight for survival amid political violence in Istanbul.
No fewer than 50 Iranian films were submitted to Venice for consideration. Of these, Wednesday, May 9 will compete in the Horizons section.
The feature debut of Tehran-born director Vahid Jalilvand (who also takes acting, writing and producing credits), it tells of the unrest caused by an advert in a Tehran newspaper that people believe offers a solution to all of their problems.
Also playing in the Horizons strand are Madame Courage (Algeria, France, UAE), about a North African immigrant in Paris addicted to the eponymous psychoactive drug (Artane tablets), and Nicolas Saada's Taj Mahal, a thriller set against the backdrop of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008, starring Stacy Martin (from Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac).
Indian filmmaker Vetrimaaran's Interrogation uses true events to explore police interrogation techniques and brutality – a subject that should resonate well beyond the film's setting.
Time will tell whether it can replicate Chaitanya Tamhane's Court, which took two top awards in the same section last year. Another Indian film, Island City, has been selected for Venice Days.
Directed by Ruchika Oberoi, the film meshes three stories – two black comedies and a tragicomedy – set in a modern-day Indian city.
artslife@thenational.ae
