La La Land is the Superprime director’s first feature since Whiplash, his breakout debut in 2014 which earned three Oscars.

Channeling a classic Hollywood musical in a contemporary Los Angeles setting, the vibrantly saturated and stylistically hyper-real film tells the tale of an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and a jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling) who fall in love. The pair face difficulties as they strive to make ends meet on their search for stardom.

La La Land is set to open the Venice Film Festival on August 31. The festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera announced that the film “does not merely reinvent the musical genre, it gives it a brand new start.”

In an interview with Collider, Gosling reflects, “I really had a special experience on [La La Land]. Damien is an incredible filmmaker. It was a big undertaking for him. For his second film, to take something like that on, I’m really excited for people to see the film.”

Alongside Gosling and Stone the film stars J. K. Simmons, who won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Whiplash, as well as Finn Wittrock, Callie Hernandez, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Meagen Fay. This marks the third collaboration between stars Gosling and Stone, after Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad.

La La Land will be released in theaters in December.