Denis Villeneuve

Frank Herbert’s acclaimed 1965 science fiction novel Dune has always proved a cinematic challenge to filmmakers trying to adapt the sprawling story set in the distant future of a feudal interstellar society where various noble houses control planetary fiefs. Whereas David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation received mixed critical reception, Denis Villeneuve, the French-Canadian director who brought Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 to the screen, not only received critical and commercial praise for his revision, but two Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director.

Timothée Chalamet ruled the weekend box office with two disparate films, Denis Villeneuve’s epic Dune and Wes Anderson’s esoteric The French Dispatch. Dune, led by Timothée as Paul Atreides, the duke heir of the House Atreides, scored several record bests.

When the end credits started to roll after the first press screening of Dune at the Venice Film Festival, enthusiastic applause filled the Sala Grande screening theater. Director Denis Villeneuve’s bold adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic science fiction novel divides the 412-page book into two sections, with Dune: Part One (the movie’s full moniker) introducing audiences to the dangerous desert planet of Arrakis, colossal sandworms and a young heir named Paul Atreides (played by Golden Globe-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet).

Ridley Scott’s initially underrated 1982 classic Blade Runner trailblazed a genre of noir sci-fi and gave new meaning to the “Director’s Cut”, as multiple edits of the film ensured decades of discussion. It's no wonder that the long-awaited sequel Blade Runner 2049 comes with much expectation, as it answers (or perhaps not) the origin and fate of Harrison Ford’s seminal character, Deckard.

Blade Runner 2049 easily must be the most anticipated movie of the year  - if nothing else because of the absolute cult status of its forerunner: Ridley Scott’s 1982 seminal Blade Runner. That film infused a science fiction story (based on a Philip K Dick novella) about artificial intelligence and the fundamental question of human identity with a film noir sensibility lifted from hard boiled detective movies of classic Hollywood.

Québécois director Denis Villeneuve is more of a regular at the Cannes Festival than on the Lido (he has shown no less than four films on the Croisette), but this year his Arrival had its world premiere here in Venice. After the emotional family backstories of Incendies, the gut-wrenching thriller Prisoners  and the dark cartel procedural Sicario , the  Canadian director treads new territory with this adaptation of Ted Chiang’s science fiction novella The Story of Your Life which conjures a “first contact” scenario in which sky scraper-sized alien crafts suddenly land in 12 locations around the world.

Anyone who first encounters Ana de Armas' talent in Hands of Stone.