On one side, Academy Award-winning actress, Regina King is making her directorial debut with drama, One Night In Miami. In contrast to King’s debut as a director, the iconic Spanish filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar is set to give another display of his mettle with a dramatic short, The Human Voice.

At first glance, nothing appears to be common between the two films except that both are dramas. However, as a matter of fact, both movies have been added to the Venice Film Festival’s 77th edition and The films will be screened out-of-competition.

King's One Night In Miami follows the aftermath of Cassius Clay’s famous 1964 bout against the daunting Sonny Liston and his meeting with change-makers such as Malcolm X, Jim Browne, and Sam Cooke afterward in a bid to strengthen their battle against injustice. Cassius Clay later came to be known as Muhammad Ali after he attained the title of the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

Almodovar’s ‘The Human Voice’ is a bit of a departure from regular shorts. The unique plot of the short revolves around the final phone conversation made by a woman to her longtime lover. The twist of the movie: the lover has plans to marry another girl.

Both the movies have an associated social message to turn the plot into something cherished by film critics. Probably the same is the reason that the two films have found a place in the Venice Film Festival lineup.

Venice artistic director, Alberto Barbera stated that One Night In Miami is something that is in line with an ongoing set of events highlighting ‘the importance of the fight against all forms of racism.’ It’s obviously easy as pie to see what is the standout factor of King’s directorial debut. 

She added that the films highlight important social issues - and Venice is delighted to bring such important subjects to ‘public attention’. Her words suggest that films highlighting an important social issue must be brought forward to enhance their visibility so that the message can reach as many people as possible. 

The Human Voice is the first time that Pedro Almodovar has shot a film in English. Before The Human Voice, Almodovar has made a dozen shorts and all of them were Spanish in language.

The fest is scheduled to take place over Sept. 2 to Sept. 12 – making it the first major international fest to go for a physical event amid the rage of the virus. However, if the pandemic continues to threaten the world, the date may be postponed.