Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon 2’ to premiere at Venice Film Festival

Kevin Costner’s much-anticipated film, ‘Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter Two,’ is set to have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, according to a report by Variety. The film, originally scheduled for an August 16 release in US theaters, was canceled earlier this month.

Costner, who directs and stars in the film alongside Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, and Danny Huston, will present the film out of competition on September 7 at the Lido. The premiere will be accompanied by a showing of the first “Horizon” film, which received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes in May.

New Line Cinema’s ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ is a comprehensive portrayal of the Civil War expansion and the settlement of the American West. Costner, apart from directing and starring, co-wrote the film with Jon Baird and produced it through his Territory Pictures.

“My dream was always to show ‘Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter Two’ at the Venice Film Festival,” Costner said in a statement. “The fact that now they have decided to show ‘Chapter One’ earlier in the day and then the world premiere of ‘Chapter Two’ that evening shows not only their belief in how the two films work together but their support of a director’s vision. I’m indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in committing to this cinematic journey.”

Alberto Barbera, the director of the Venice Film Festival, commented, “It is a great pleasure and honor to host the world premiere of ‘Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter Two,’ alongside its first chapter. This late addition to the lineup pays a heartfelt and respectful tribute to the visionary project of a great actor and director, who invested himself in the epic reconstruction of the years crucial to the founding of the country, digging beyond myth in search of authenticity capable of restoring a piece of history in its complex and contradictory reality.”

The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival will run from August 28 to September 7.