The 2018 Venice Film Festival will host a special screening of Vanessa Redgrave’s latest film The Aspern Papers, directed by Julien Landais, as part of Tribute to Redgrave on the occasion of her Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 2018 award. In addition to Vanessa Redgrave, the film stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Joely Richardson.

Julien Landais directed The Aspern Papers from a script he wrote with Jean Pavans and Hannah Bhuiya, which is based on Pavans’ adaptation of the novella by Henry James. Poppy Delevingne, Jon Kortajarena and Lois Robbins co-star alongside Morgane Polanski, Barbara Meier, Alice Aufray, and Nicolas Hau.

The Aspern Papers is a story of obsession, grandeur lost, and dreams of Byronic adventures. Set in Venice in the late 19th century, it centres on Morton Vint (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), an ambitious editor who is fascinated by the romantic poet Jeffrey Aspern (Jon Kortajarena) and by his icon’s short and wildly romantic life. Having travelled from America to Venice, he is determined to get his hands on the letters Aspern wrote to his beautiful lover and muse, Juliana Bordereau (Vanessa Redgrave). Now the ferocious guardian of their secrets Juliana lives in a Venetian palazzo with her niece (Joely Richardson) who she seems to control and Morton tries to manipulate. But when the ambitious adventurer trifles with Miss Tina’s affections she learns to see through his scheme.

The 75th Venice International Film Festival will be held from August 29th to September 8th, 2018