Zendaya tennis drama ‘Challengers’ opens Venice Film Festival

The Venice Film Festival serves up one of the most popular films of the year as an opening night selection in Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Challengers’. The romantic tennis drama starring Zendaya, Mike Faist from “West Side Story” and Josh O’Connor from “The Crown” will have its world premiere out of competition at the festival’s 80th edition in September, organizers said on Thursday.

“Challengers” stars Zendaya as a tennis prodigy whose past collides with her present when her husband, played by Faist, takes on a competitor who was once his best friend and her boyfriend. A racy and evocative teaser trailer that debuted recently quickly became a popular social media meme.

“It’s a modern bold story of youthful energy, love and strength,” Guadagnino said in a statement. “I can’t wait for the Lido crowd to dance to the soundtrack of Trent (Reznor) and Atticus (Ross) on the opening night of the 80th edition of the Mostra.”

The Italian director has premiered several films at the festival, including ‘Bones and All’, with which he won the Silver Lion for directing last year, and films such as ‘A Bigger Splash’ and ‘Suspiria’.

As the first major event of the fall festival season, Venice is a major stop for Oscar nominees. Last year, the festival premiered “The Whale,” which went on to win Best Actor Brendan Fraser, as well as a handful of award contenders, including “Tár,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and the Best Actress nominee Ana de Armas (“Blonde”).

Alberto Barbera, director of the Venice Film Festival, called ‘Challengers’ cinema in its purest form.

“Luca Guadagnino is one of the few Italian directors who has always been used to working with both Italian and foreign actresses and actors and getting top results from them every time,” Barbera said in a statement. “Guadagnino puts no limits to his creative energy in this film, as he tackles subjects such as love, friendship and male rivalry, bringing to life a captivating and moving film, full of irony, sensuality and good character.”

MGM and Amazon Studios will release ‘Challengers’ in theaters on September 15.

The full line-up for the Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 30 to September 9, will be announced at the end of July.

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