Venice Film Festival to Open With Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'The Truth'

The drama stars Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke.

La Vérité (The Truth), directed by Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters; Like Father, Like Son) will open the 76th edition of the Venice International Film Festival.

The new drama stars Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke and will screen in competition at the upcoming event, which is set to run Aug. 28-Sept. 7. The fest is led by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta.

“It is with great joy that I have learned that my new film, La Vérité, has been selected to open the official competition of the Venice Film Festival," Kore-eda, who won the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or for Shoplifters in 2018, said Thursday in a statement. "I am extremely honored. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the entire staff of the festival. We shot the movie in 10 weeks last fall in Paris. As officially announced, the cast is prestigious but the film itself recounts a small family story that takes place primarily inside a house. I have tried to make my characters live within this small universe, with their lies, pride, regrets, sadness, joy and reconciliation. I truly hope you will like this film."

Added Barbera: "For the first film he has directed abroad, Kore-eda had the privilege of working with two major French film stars. The encounter between the universe of Japan's most important filmmaker today and two beloved actresses like Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche brought to life a poetic reflection on the relationship between a mother and her daughter, and the complex profession of acting. It will be a pleasure to present this movie as the opening film of this year's Venice Film Festival."

The film centers on Fabienne (Deneuve), who is a star of French cinema. "She reigns amongst men who love and admire her," according to a plot description. "When she publishes her memoirs, her daughter Lumir (Binoche) returns from New York to Paris with her husband (Hawke) and a young child. The reunion between mother and daughter will quickly turn to confrontation: truths will be told, accounts settled, loves and resentments confessed."