The 74th annual Venice Film Festival just opened with the world premiere of Downsizing, a futuristic new film starring Matt Damon as a man who undergoes a procedure to have his body reduced in size in order to ease the financial and environmental burdens of being a full-size human. Downsizing is directed by Alexander Payne, the auteur behind Sideways and The Descendants. The film’s star-studded cast also includes Kristen Wiig, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Christoph Waltz, and Jason Sudeikis and is receiving rave reviews from Venice attendees.

Damon also stars in Suburbicon, the new film from director George Clooney from a script by the Coen brothers, which will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival later this week. Both films have been generating a lot of attention and are likely to put Damon’s name high in the running for one or more Oscar nods come awards season.

According to Variety, the Venice Film Festival has been a launching pad in recent years for a number of films that went on to win big at the Oscars. La La Land, Gravity, Birdman, and Spotlight all had their world premieres at the Venice Film Festival.

This year, a number of high-profile stars and directors are bringing their new films to the Venice Film Festival.

The aforementioned Downsizing is receiving rave reviews after its premiere Wednesday night.

Suburbicon takes place in 1950’s U.S.A., but Clooney, in a recent interview, described it as deeply relevant to today’s America, according to ABC News.

Mother! is a new thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence and directed by Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream auteur Darren Aronofsky. Not much has been revealed about the film thus far, as Aronofsky wants to keep an air of mystery surrounding it. Judging by the clips and teasers released thus far, the film is a suspenseful psychological thriller that takes place in a country house, with Lawrence playing the wife of Javier Bardem, who may be some kind of cult leader attracting followers to their home.

The Shape of Water is the new film by master storyteller Guillermo del Toro. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, and Octavia Butler and takes place in Cold War America. The trailer is very intriguing.

Human Flow is a new documentary about the global refugee crisis from Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei.

Any of these films or the others in competition have a chance to win at the Venice Film Festival and go on to win major acclaim and awards.

Matt Damon at the premiere of 'Downsizing' at the Venice Film Festival. [Image by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]

[Featured Image by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]