The 78th annual Venice Film Festival, that commenced on September 1 and ended yesterday, saw some serious firepower on the lineup, with several strong contenders for the Golden Lion award. Revered filmmakers from all over the world (including three from the Arab world), turned up with films that included arthouse and Academy hopefuls. We saw a stunning Zendaya make an appearance with Timothee Chalamet for sci-fi Dune (she actually worked four different looks on the red carpet). We also saw Kristen Stewart at the screening of Spencer, in which she gets a turn at Princess Diana; we’d maybe question the soft blue chemise and sheer trousers she was wearing but we won’t because she’s Kristen Stewart and she has Chanel’s badge of approval so who are we to question her? Some people have immunity; they’ve earned it. As the world’s oldest film festival, Venice Film Festival has screened debuts of films like The Shape of Water, Nomadland, La La Land, Joker (remember that standing ovation) and A Star is Born. Here are four of this year’s top contenders:

Spencer

Pablo Larrain’s Spencer isn’t expected to be the regular dose of royal mush. According to critics who have seen it, ‘the movie aims to place the
audience in its heroine’s state of mind as much as it wants to capture the sense of time of the early '90s and that point in the royal relationship when things begin to disintegrate.’ Stewart’s performance is
questionable, it appears, but it is sensational as she broods under fancy hats. Spencer
hits theatres on November 5.

Dune

Timothee Chalamet is Paul Atreides, the gifted young man who finds himself on a new planet and in the middle of a cosmic war and Zendaya is Chani, the desert-dwelling ‘Fremen’ woman who will change his life. Denis Vilenueve’s adaptation of of the first half of Frank Herbert’s novel is expected to make sci-fi history and must be watched on the big screen. With a soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, there’s really no reason not to hold your breath for October 1, when it releases.

Parallel Mothers

Pedro Almodovar delivered the first picture of opening night at Venice Film Festival and with Milena Smit and Penelope Cruz, he celebrated family love and female
solidarity. It’s a film that opens in a
maternity ward where two women, Janice
– a 40-year old photographer played by Cruz, and teenager Ana (Milena Smit) meet and exchange their intent of raising their child alone. Seemingly warm and hopeful, the film has its fair share of dark twists and turns but connects a shaded past with a hopeful future. The film got a nine minute standing ovation at its screening; it
released in Spain this weekend.

Halloween Kills

Jamie Lee Curtis, 62, isn’t just a role model for women but also for action heroes who want to look glamorous while kicking horror’s scary ass. Curtis was both incredible and emotional as she attended the Halloween Kills premiere on Wednesday, before emotionally accepting the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement gong at the film festival. She reprises her iconic role as Laurie Strode in the horror film, which yes of course, is nothing more than a thrilling slash fest but thrilling it is, and we can never get enough of that. An indestructible killer, making a night of it, out there armed with a firefighter’s axe, axing firefighters…sounds like a guilty pleasure. Yes, please.