The lineup for the 82nd Venice Film Festival, which will take place from August 28 to September 6, has been announced. From legendary filmmakers to daring new voices, this year’s program once again promises to shape the cinematic landscape.
The eagerly anticipated selection for the 82nd edition of the festival includes both prominent names from the world of independent cinema and large-scale productions. The opening film will be La Grazia, a political drama set in Italy by Paolo Sorrentino. The festival will close with Chien 51, directed by Cédric Jimenez.
Among the 21 films in the main competition are several standout titles: Kathryn Bigelow returns after a long hiatus with A House of Dynamite; Benny Safdie explores the world of professional fighting in The Smashing Machine; Yorgos Lanthimos presents his new film Bugonia; and Guillermo del Toro’s much-anticipated Frankenstein is also in the running. Other highlights include Jay Kelly by Noah Baumbach, which brings together George Clooney and Adam Sandler; The Wizard Of The Kremlin by Olivier Assayas, featuring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin; and Father Mother Sister Brother, marking Jim Jarmusch’s return to competition after many years.
Photo: Ken Woroner / Netflix
Six of the competing films are directed by women, placing female filmmakers at the center of this year’s edition. Names like Mona Fastvold, Valérie Donzelli, Ildikó Enyedi, Kaouther Ben Hania, and Shu Qi are among them.
Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, backed by Amazon MGM Studios and starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, and Andrew Garfield, will screen out of competition. Set on a university campus, the film delves into themes of sexual misconduct and gendered power dynamics. Other notable entries include Frankenstein starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, and Julian Schnabel’s long-awaited In the Hand of Dante, which features a star-studded cast including Oscar Isaac, Martin Scorsese, Gal Gadot, and Gerard Butler.
Photo: MUBI
This year, the festival introduces two new sections. Spotlight replaces the former Horizons Extra program, while a newly added documentary subsection focuses on the relationship between film and music. In this section, Newport and the Great Folk Dream examines Bob Dylan’s iconic performance at the Newport Folk Festival in the 1960s, alongside films about Italian musicians such as Nino D’Angelo and Piero Pelù.
On the documentary front, new works by Werner Herzog, Laura Poitras, Lucrecia Martel, and Sofia Coppola will be screened out of competition. Charlie Kaufman also returns with his short film How to Shoot a Ghost.
Photo: MUBI
The jury for this year’s main competition will be chaired by Alexander Payne and includes Mohammad Rasoulof, Cristian Mungiu, Zhao Tao, and Fernanda Torres. The Orizzonti Extra jury will be led by Titane director Julia Ducournau. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded to Kim Novak.
From the return of celebrated auteurs to bold directorial debuts, the 82nd Venice Film Festival promises a rich and dynamic lineup.
Main Competition
La Grazia (Opening Film) – Paolo Sorrentino
The Wizard Of The Kremlin – Olivier Assayas
Jay Kelly – Noah Baumbach
The Voice Of Hind Rajab – Kaouther Ben Hania
A House Of Dynamite – Kathryn Bigelow
The Sun Rises On Us All – Cai Shangjun
Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro
Elisa – Leonardo Di Costanzo
A Pied D’Oeuvre – Valérie Donzelli
Silent Friend – Ildikó Enyedi
The Testament Of Ann Lee – Mona Fastvold
Father Mother Sister Brother – Jim Jarmusch
Bugonia – Yorgos Lanthimos
Duse – Pietro Marcello
Un Film Fatto Per Bene – Franco Maresco
Orphan – László Nemes
L’Etranger – François Ozon
No Other Choice – Park Chan-wook
Sotto Le Nuvole – Gianfranco Rosi
The Smashing Machine – Benny Safdie
Girl – Shu Qi
Out of Competition – Fiction
Chien 51 (Closing Film) – Cédric Jimenez
Sermon To The Void – Hilal Baydarov
L’Isola Di Andrea – Antonio Capuano
Il Maestro – Andrea Di Stefano
After The Hunt – Luca Guadagnino
Hateshinaki Scarlet – Mamoru Hosoda
The Last Viking – Anders Thomas Jensen
In The Hand Of Dante – Julian Schnabel
La Valle Dei Sorrisi – Paolo Strippoli
Dead Man’s Wire – Gus Van Sant
Orfeo – Virgilio Villoresi
Out of Competition – Documentaries
Kabul, Between Prayers – Aboozar Amini
Ferdinando Scianna – The Photographer of Shadows – Roberto Andò
Marc By Sofia – Sofia Coppola
Angela’s Diaries – We Two Filmmakers. Chapter Three – Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi
Ghost Elephants – Werner Herzog
My Father And Qaddafi – Jihan K
The Tale Of Sylian – Tamara Kotevska
Nuestra Tierra – Lucrecia Martel
Remake – Ross McElwee
Kim Novak’s Vertigo – Alexandre Philippe
Cover-Up – Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus
Broken English – Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth
Notes Of A True Criminal – Alexander Rodnyansky, Andriy Alferov
Director’s Diary – Aleksandr Sokurov
Back Home – Tsai Ming-liang
Out of Competition – Film & Music
Nino. 18 Days – Toni D’Angelo
Piero Pelù: Noise Inside – Francesco Fei
Newport And The Great Folk Dream – Robert Gordon
Francesco de Gregori: Nevergreen – Stefano Pistolini
Out of Competition – Series
Portobello – Marco Bellocchio
Un Prophète – Enrico Maria Artale
Etty – Hagai Levi
Il Mostro – Stefano Sollima
Horizons
Mother (Opening Film) – Teona Strugar Mitevska
Divine Comedy – Ali Asgari
Hiedra – Ana Cristina Barragán
The Kidnapping Of Arabella – Carolina Cavalli
Strange River – Jaume Claret Muxart
Lost Land – Akio Fujimoto
Grand Ciel – Akihiro Hata
Rose Of Nevada – Mark Jenkin
Late Fame – Kent Jones
Milk Teeth – Mihai Mincan
Pin de Fartie – Alejo Moguillansky
Father – Tereza Nvotová
En el Camino – David Pablos
Songs Of Forgotten Teeth – Anuparna Roy
Un Anno Di Scuola – Laura Samani
The Souffleur – Gastón Solnicki
Barrio Triste – Stillz
Human Resource – Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
Funeral Casino Blues – Roderick Warich
Spotlight
Hijra – Shahad Ameen
Un Cabo Suelto – Daniel Hendler
Made In EU – Stephan Komandarev
Motor City – Potsy Ponciroli
La Hija De La Española – Mariana Rondón, Marité Ugas
A Bras-le-Corps – Marie-Elsa Sgualdo
Calle Malaga – Maryam Touzani
Killing Is Tiring – Daniele Vicari
