Venice Film Festival: 21 films chasing top prize

Rome: The Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, will be awarded on Saturday.

It is being chosen from 21 contenders by a jury led by "Parasite" director Bong Joon-ho.

Here are the films in the running:

- Parallel Mothers: Spain -

Two single women prepare to give birth in a maternity ward in Pedro Almodovar´s latest film starring Penelope Cruz, which also touches on the trauma of Spain´s civil war.

- Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon: US -

Ana Lily Amirpour´s fantasy film sees Kate Hudson ditch her rom-com image as a hard-nosed stripper who befriends an escaped patient with supernatural powers in New Orleans.

- Another World: France -

The last of Stephane Brize´s trilogy about the world of work, it stars Vincent Lindon as a boss forced to make tough decisions.

- The Power of the Dog: New Zealand/Australia -

Two brothers feud on a Montana ranch after one comes home with a new wife, in Jane Campion´s film starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst.

- America Latina: Italy/France -

Italian twins Fabio and Damiano D´Innocenzo wrote and directed this love story thriller starring Elio Germano.

- Happening: France -

A young woman risks prison as she seeks an abortion in 1960s France in Audrey Diwan´s drama.

- Official Competition: Spain/Argentina -

Penelope Cruz stars as a film-maker dealing with two difficult leading men, including Antonio Banderas, in the comedy directed by Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn.

- The Hole: Italy/France/Germany -

Michelangelo Frammartino´s film is based on the true story of a group of speleologists who in 1961 discovered a deep cave in a remote area of Italy´s south.

- Sundown: Mexico/France/Sweden -

Tim Roth stars as a wealthy man seeking to walk away from his life while on vacation in Mexican director Michel Franco´s latest.

- Lost Illusions: France -

Xavier Giannoli´s film adaptation of the Balzac novel stars Benjamin Voisin, Xavier Dolan and Gerard Depardieu.

- The Lost Daughter: Greece/US/UK/Israel -

US actress Maggie Gyllenhaal´s directorial debut is based on an Elena Ferrante novel and stars Olivia Colman as a woman obsessed with another mother and daughter while on holiday.

- Spencer: Germany/UK -

Chilean director Pablo Larrain explores the collapse of the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, with Kristen Stewart in the leading role.

- Freaks Out: Italy/Belgium -

A circus troupe in Rome becomes increasingly desperate with the onset of World War II in Gabriele Mainetti´s film.

- The King of Laughter: Italy/Spain -

Toni Servillo stars as Naples´ famous turn-of-the-century comedian Eduardo Scarpetta in Mario Martone´s biopic.

- On the Job: The Missing 8: Philippines -

Erik Matti´s action sequel focuses on prisoners-turned-hitmen and corruption in the media.

- Leave No Traces: Poland/France/Czechoslavakia -

The true story of a witness to the fatal beating of a young activist in Warsaw by the militia under the Communist regime by Polish director Jan P. Matuszynski.

- Captain Volkonogov Escaped: Russia/Estonia/France -

Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov´s thriller follows a state interrogator in the former Soviet Union who flees, hoping to repent.

- The Card Counter US/UK/China -

A gambler is haunted by his past as a serviceman in Paul Schrader´s revenge thriller starring Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish and Willem Dafoe.

- The Hand of God: Italy -

Paolo Sorrentino´s highly personal drama is set in the Naples of his youth when he experienced terrible tragedy alongside the excitement of football legend Diego Maradona coming to his city.

- Reflection: Ukraine -

A Ukrainian surgeon seeks to rebuild his life after witnessing horrifying violence as a Russian prisoner in Valentyn Vasyanovych´s drama.

- The Box: Mexico/US -

A Mexico City teen heads north to collect his father´s remains but is drawn into the grim world of sweatshops in Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas´ film.