Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman will have its world premiere as part of the 2020 Venice Film Festival’s main competition.

The drama, directed by Mundruczó and written by Kata Wéber, is produced by Little Lamb Productions, a division of BRON Studios based in Beverly Hills. Shot in Montreal, the film is also co-financed by BRON partner Creative Wealth Media.

Pieces of a Woman stars Shia LaBeouf and Vanessa Kirby and tells the story of a grieving woman following the events of a tragic home birth. It also stars Ellen Burstyn, Jimmie Fails, Molly Parker, Sarah Snook, Iliza Shlesinger and Benny Safdie.

The film is among 18 features selected for the main competition in Venice’s 77th edition, including Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, which will have a simultaneous world premiere at Venice and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept. 11. The feature, which is produced by and stars Frances McDormand, will also be part of the New York Film Festival (NYFF) lineup and be featured by Telluride in a special L.A.-based drive-in screening. The joint premiere is part of the fall festival alliance forged by TIFF, Venice, NYFF and Telluride to become a “united platform” for cinema in 2020.

Selected for the Horizons competition in Venice this year is the Canada/France/Ivory Coast copro La nuit des rois, written and directed by Philippe Lacôte. The film is produced by Montreal’s Peripheria Productions, France’s Banshee Films and Ivory Coast prodco Wassakara Productions. It was partially financed by Eurimages and SODEC. Starring Koné Bakary and Steve Tientcheu, La nuit des rois is set in an Ivory Coast prison that is run by the prisoners, and follows a young man who is chosen to tell a story to the inmates.

The 77th Venice Film Festival, set to run from Sept. 2 to 12, will move ahead as a traditional festival rather than virtual, although it will run with a smaller lineup of films than previous years and will follow public safety guidelines for its theatre screenings.

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