The 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival, scheduled to run from September 2 to 12, will feature a diverse slate of international cinema and high-profile premieres, including a sweeping documentary on Elon Musk and a new dark comedy from Martin McDonagh. Artistic director Alberto Barbera unveiled the lineup on Thursday, noting that the selection is lighter on Hollywood studio films than in previous years, a trend that mirrors the earlier Cannes Film Festival according to Apnews.
Competition Highlights and Award Contenders
The festival will open on Sept. 2 with Ink, directed by Danny Boyle. An adaptation of James Graham’s stage play, the film dramatizes the rise of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and will compete for the Golden Lion. The jury deciding the prize is led by filmmaker and actor Maggie Gyllenhaal, with other jurors including composer Daniel Blumberg and filmmakers Shahrbanoo Sadat, Johnnie To, Kaouther Ben Hania, and Francesco Casetti, as well as Xavier Giannoli according to Deadline.
Returning to the competition is Irish director Martin McDonagh with Wild Horse Nine. Distributed by Searchlight Pictures, the dark comedy stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as veteran CIA officers sent to Easter Island ahead of the 1973 Chilean coup according to The Hollywood Reporter. Other notable competition titles include:
- Primetime: The feature debut of documentary director Lance Oppenheim, produced by A24 and Ari Aster. Robert Pattinson stars as NBC newsman Chris Hansen during the rise of the To Catch a Predator format.
- Bunker: A psychological thriller from Florian Zeller starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem as a married couple whose relationship buckles after he accepts a commission to build a bunker for a billionaire.
- Bucking Fastard: Directed by Werner Herzog and starring sisters Rooney and Kate Mara as identical twins searching for an imaginary land.
- Company: A gothic mystery directed by Casey Affleck, marking his third directorial feature and first since 2019.
- Possible Love: A melodrama from Lee Chang-dong, his first film since 2018’s Burning.
- Look Back: A coming-of-age story from Hirokazu Koreeda, based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga.
- It Will Happen Tonight: A romantic drama from Nanni Moretti, marking his first return to Venice since 1989.
Documentaries and Out-of-Competition Features
The broader slate includes highly anticipated documentaries, most notably Musk by Alex Gibney, described as a sweeping portrait of the billionaire according to Apnews. Another significant premiere is the Oasis reunion documentary Don’t Look Back in Anger, produced by Disney. The film follows the band’s recent world tour and is expected to feature the first joint interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher in over 25 years.
Other out-of-competition titles include a seven-hour Bernardo Bertolucci documentary titled Joie de Vivre, directed by Luca Guadagnino, and My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile by Julia Loktev, which runs 355 minutes. Additional premieres include Paul Schrader’s The Basics of Philosophy and Russell Crowe’s autobiographical musical concert movie, What Love Builds.
Lifetime Achievements and Special Projects
The festival will honor George Clooney and 93-year-old Ellen Burstyn with the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Burstyn also stars in Flesh Impact, a Marilyn Monroe-inspired short directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, which also features Dakota Johnson.
The 83rd Biennale continues Venice’s role as a launching pad for awards season. While last year’s splashy premieres including Julia Roberts and Dwayne Johnson did not all find success with audiences or voters, the festival frequently produces Best Picture nominees, with two appearing in last year’s slate: Frankenstein and Bugonia according to Apnews.
Worth a look