Baltasar Kormákur’s “Everest,” the story of two expeditions to climb the world’s highest mountain, will be the opening night-film at the 72nd Venice Film Festival, Venice organizers announced on Wednesday.
The film’s extensive cast includes Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Keira Knightley and Jake Gyllenhaal. Kormakur’s previous films include “The Deep,” which was shortlisted for the foreign-language Oscar, as well as the English-language films “Contraband” and “2 Guns.”
“Everest” was produced by Working Title Films and will be released in the United States by Universal. Its script is by William Nicholson (“Gladiator”) and Simon Beaufoy (“Slumdog Millionaire”).
See video: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke Fight for Survival in ‘Everest’ Trailer (Video)
The film will screen out of competition and will kick off the festival on Sept. 2 in the Sala Grande.
The first of the fall’s major festivals at which many of the year’s top awards contenders will be unveiled, the Venice Film Festival will run from Sept. 2 through Sept. 12, overlapping both the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.
