French-Canadian director Bertrand Bonello’s La Bête will have its premiere at the 80th Venice Film Festival before having its Canadian debut at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The film is a sci-fi romance based off of the 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James, set in time periods 1910, 2014 and 2044. It follows Léa Seydoux and George MacKay as Gabrielle and Louis in a not-so-distant past and a dystopian near future where emotions are considered a threat.

La Bête’s screenplay was written by Bonello, Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin Charbit, and is produced by Justin Taurand. Production companies signed on to the project are Arte France Cinéma, Les Films du Bélier, My New Picture and Sons of Manual.

The film is among 23 features that will compete for Venice’s revered Golden Lion Award, against names such as Bradley Cooper, Sofia Coppola and David Fincher.

La Bête has had a checkered history, first being delayed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then delayed again as its original star — Gaspard Ulliel — died in a skiing accident in 2022.

The Venice Film Festival will run from August 30 to September 9.

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