TEHRAN – Iranian director Saeid Rustai’s drama “Just 6.5” about the horrible image of narcotics will be competing in the 76th Venice International Film Festival, taking place in Venice Lido from August 28 to September 7, the organizers have announced.

Also known as “6.5 for One Meter”, the film will be screened in the Orizzonti, an international competition section dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema.

Starring Payman Maadi, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Parinaz Izadyar and Farhad Aslani, the film shows a police group under the leadership of Samad who was assigned to arrest Nasser Khakzad, a major drug trafficker in Tehran.

The film was a big winner at the 19th edition of the Hafez Awards as it was honored in several categories including best film and best director.

Maadi won one of the wards for best actor for his portrayal of Samad, while the film brought Hooman Behmanesh the award for best cinematographer.

Venice organizers unveiled the lineup for the 76th edition of the world’s oldest film festival on Thursday.

The Venice movie marathon officially kicks off the awards season as Oscar hopefuls start their campaign - last year’s lineup included “Roma”, “The Favorite” and “A Star Is Born”, which all went on to win Academy Awards.

A space odyssey starring Brad Pitt, Steven Soderbergh’s financial thriller “The Laundromat”, Joaquin Phoenix’s stint as “Joker” and Roman Polanski’s new movie on the Dreyfus affair will vie for the top prize at next month’s Venice film festival.

Other titles competing for the Golden Lion include “Marriage Story”, starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a couple in crisis; “Wasp Network”, a spy thriller with Penelope Cruz; and the French-Japanese co-production “The Truth”, with Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche.

Polanski’s inclusion in the lineup is likely to be a talking point after his expulsion from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018 for violating a code of conduct adopted following hundreds of accusations of sexual harassment or assault in the entertainment industry.

Outside the 21-strong main competition, Kristen Stewart will play the actress Jean Seberg in “Seberg”, a political thriller distributed by Amazon Studios.

Netflix, which was behind Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” last year, returns to Venice with several titles including two in the running for the Golden Lion - “Marriage Story” and “The Laundromat”, which is based on the Panama Papers expose of tax-avoiding offshore financial holdings and stars Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas.

Photo: Navid Mohammadzadeh acts in a scene from “Just 6.5” by director Saeid Rustai.

RM/MMS/YAW