Venice film fest 2015 to open with Everest on September 2

Everest, directed by Baltasar Kormakur, will open the 72nd edition of the Venice Film Festival on September 2.

Inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, Everest documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest elements found on the planet, the climbers would face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.

Everest is a Working Title Films production, starring Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal.

The movie was shot on the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal, on the Italian Alps, and at the Cinecitta Studios in Rome as well as the Pinewood Studios in the UK.

A still from Everest.

Everest will hit American theatres on September 18, and the Italian screens on September 24.

Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Kormakur is a producer, director and actor whose work spans theatre, cinema and television. Once the Venice premiere is over, the helmer plans to produce and direct Vikingr (Vikings Tale), a big-budget adventure story set in the world of Norse warriors, and which has been inspired by Iceland's epic sagas.

Kormakur also plans to direct the eco-disaster film, Cascade, and write and helm a crime thriller based on the events that inspired the Filipino movie, On the Job.

He rode into the arena of international recognition after his 2012 Contraband -- starring Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster and Kate Beckinsale -- proved a huge hit in the US.

The 11-day Venice Film Festival -- the oldest in the world having started in 1932 -- is held on the island of Lido, off mainland Venice. The festival will close on September 12, and the official selections will be announced on July 29 in Rome.

(Gautaman Bhaskaran has covered the Venice Film Festival for more than a decade.)