If you want to spot the contenders at next year’s Academy Awards, take a look at the Competition lineup at this year’s Venice International Film Festival . There often is overlap.

Three of the last five Best Pictures debuted at Venice: “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) ,” “Spotlight” and “The Shape of Water.” And at February’s Oscars, three Best Picture nominees also had Venice premieres. All three garnered prizes in other categories: Olivia Colman won Best Actress for her tragicomic turn in “The Favourite,” Lady Gaga and her co-writers won Best Original Song for “Shallow” in “A Star is Born,” and Alfonso Cuarón took home Best Director , Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film trophies for “Roma.”

Timing is everything. For a film to do well on Oscar night, it needs enough time to gather critical momentum, but not enough time for voters to get sick of it. And that is why the Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica of La Biennale di Venezia — to use its full title — signals the de facto start of awards season. Recently, most Best Picture winners have been shown at Venice, or at the Telluride and Toronto festivals , which get underway shortly afterward.

Sticking to Venice, which begins on Wednesday, here are a few of the films that could embark on the tumultuous journey to the Oscars.