Luis Tosar thriller to open strand; Laurent Cantet to chair jury; programme includes Agnès Varda, Alice Rohrwacher shorts.

Scroll down for full line-up

Dani de la Torre’s debut thriller Retribution, starring Luis Tosar, will open the 2015 Venice Days strand, which announced its line-up today.

The Venice Film Festival’s (September 2 - 12) independently run section will host 21 titles including 18 world premieres in its official selection.

The ten-title competition includes Matias Bize’s The Memory of Water, a drama about a young couple trying to rekindle their relationship after the death of their 4-year-old son, Vincenzo Marra’s fourth feature La Prima Luce, which stars Riccardo Scamarcio as an Italian lawyer tracking down his young son in Chile after an acrimonious divorce; Ascanio Celestini’s drama Long Live The Bride, starring Alba Rohrwacher, and Australian director Michael Rowe’s love drama Early Winter, featuring Suzanne Clement.

Geoffrey Rush, Miranda Otto, Sam Neill and Paul Schneider star in Simon Stone’s Australian drama The Daughter, will play out of competition and close the strand. Jan Chapman and Nicole O’Donohue produce the story of a man who returns home to discover a long-buried family secret.

Acclaimed director Carlos Saura will be on the Lido with Argentina, a documentary about tango which continues his exploration of the essence of popular dance and song while Turkish Nobel prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk is expected in Venice for the world premiere special event screening of British director Grant Gee’s Innocence Of Memories, based on Pamuk’s acclaimed book The Museum Of Innocence.

Meanwhile Roberto Rossellini’s grandson Alessandro will present the world premiere of Ingrid Bergman documentary Viva Ingrid!

French director Laurent Cantet will preside over the jury that will award the Venice Days Award worth €20,000 ($21,000) to the top competition title. Competition entries will also vye for the section’s audience award, while all first works are eligible for Venice’s Luigi De Laurentiis prize for best first work across all the Venice festival sections.

The programme also includes short films from Agnes Varda and Alice Rohrwacher.

Full line-up

Official Selection

The Memory of Water (La Memoria Del Agua) dir. Matías Bize

As I Open My Eyes (A Peine J’Ouvre Les Yeux) dir. Leyla Bouzid

Long Live the Bride (Viva La Sposa) dir. Ascanio Celestini

Klezmer dir. Piotr Chrzan

Retribution (El Desconocido) dir. Dani de la Torre

Arianna dir. Carlo Lavagna

First Light (La Prima Luce) dir. Vincenzo Marra

Island City dir. Ruchika Oberoi

Early Winter dir. Michael Rowe

Underground Fragrance dir. Song Peng Fei

The Daughter dir. Simon Stone

Special Events

Milano 2015 dir. AA.VV.

Harry’s Bar dir. Carlotta Cerquetti

Innocence of Memories - Orhan Pamuk’s Museum And Istanbul dir. Grant Gee

Viva Ingrid! dir. Alessandro Rossellini

Argentina dir. Carlos Saura

Ma dir. Celia Rowlson Hall

Miu Miu Women’s Tales

#9 De Djess dir. Alice Rohrwacher

#10 Les 3 Boutons dir. Agnès Varda

Special Projects

Il Paese Dove Gli Alberi Volano - Eugenio Barba E I Giorni Dell’Odin dir. Davide Barletti & Jacopo Quadri

Bangland dir. Lorenzo Berghella

I Sogni Del Lago Salato dir. Andrea Segre