After weeks of speculations, the Venice Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 76th edition in Rome today. Saudi Arabian director Haifaa Al Mansour's <em>The Perfect Candidate</em> is the only film from the region to be running in-competition with 20 other international films. The film, which stars Mila Alzahrani, Nourah Al Awad, Dhae Al Hilali, is about a young Saudi female doctor who decides to run for an office in a municipal election. Mansour, who lives in Los Angeles with her American husband and children, went back to Saudi Arabia to shoot the film. Mansour was the first woman to shoot a film in Saudi Arabia, her critically acclaimed <em>Wadjda </em>from 2012 about a girl who dreams of riding her own bike. <em>Wadjda</em> became Saudi Arabia's first entry for the Oscars. Some of the big titles that have been announced include <em>Joker </em>starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro, space drama <em>Ad Astra</em> starring Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones, dark comedy <em>The Laundromat</em> starring Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman, and <em>Marriage Story</em> starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. Roman Polanski's <em>J'accuse</em> will also run in competition at the festival. Polanski has been in self-imposed exile from the US since he fled in 1977 while awaiting sentencing for statutory rape. The festival, which runs from August 28 to August 7, will open with <em>The Truth</em> by Hirokazu Kore-eda and will close with <em>The Burnt Orange Heresy </em>by Giuseppe Capotondi. <em>The Perfect Candidate (SAU/GER) by </em>Haifaa Al-Mansour <em>About Endlessness </em>(SWE/GER/NOR) by Roy Andersson <em>Wasp Network </em>(FRA/BEL) by Olivier Assayas <em>Marriage Story </em>(USA) by Noah Baumbach <em>Guest Of </em><em>Honour </em>(CAN) by <em>Atom Egoyan</em> <em>Ad Astra</em> (USA) by James Gray <em>A Herdade (POR/FRA) by </em>Tiago Guedes <em>Gloria </em><em>Mundi </em>(FRA/ITA) by Robert Guéndiguian <em>Waiting For The Barbarians </em>(ITA) by Ciro Guerra <em>The Truth</em> (JAP/FRA) by Hirokazu Kore-eda <em>Ema </em>(CHILE) by Pablo Larrain <em>Saturday Fiction </em>(CHI) by Lou Ye <em>Martin Eden </em>(ITA/FRA) by Pietro Marcello <em>La Mafia Non E Piu Quella Di Una Volta </em>(ITA) by Franco Maresco <em>The Painted Bird </em>(CZE/UKR/SLO) by Vaclav Marhoul <em>Il Sindaco Del Rione Sanita </em>(ITA) by Mario Martone <em>Babyteeth </em>(AUS) by Shannon Murphy <em>Joker </em>(USA) by Todd Phillips <em>J'Accuse </em>(FRA/ITA) by Roman Polanski <em>The Laundromat </em>(USA) by Steven Soderbergh <em>No. 7 Cherry Lane </em>(HONG KONG) by Yonfan <em>To see the full selection, visit <a href="https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2019/lineup">www.labiennale.org</a> </em>