Tennis saga by ‘Call Me by Your Name’ director to open Venice Film Festival

ROME — The Venice Film Festival will open in August with the premiere of "Challengers," a tennis saga by Italy's Luca Guadagnino who a year earlier won the best director award for his cannibal film starring Timothee Chalamet.

"Challengers" is not in competition for best film, but kicks off the glitzy cinema festival, the world's oldest, running from August 30 to September 9, organizers said Thursday.

Guadagnino latest oeuvre touches on themes of "love, friendship, and male rivalry," festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.

His 2017 film "Call Me by your Name" made a star of the Franco-American actor Chalamet.

US actress Zendaya is cast as a former tennis prodigy turned coach married to a fading champion played by Mike Faist ("West Side Story"), who must face Patrick, his former best friend and his wife's ex-boyfriend, played by Josh O'Connor ("The Crown").

Last year, Guadagnino, 51, presented his film "Bones and All" at the festival, starring Chalamet as one of two young cannibals on a bloody road trip through the United States, which earned him the Silver Lion directing prize.

Venice celebrates its 80th edition this year. — Agence France-Presse