Photo Credit: Getty Images
The 82nd Venice Film Festival is set to deliver a heavyweight cinematic showcase, with artistic director Alberto Barbera unveiling a potent lineup blending global auteurs, A-list talent, and politically charged themes. The Golden Lion competition promises a fierce race, with bold offerings from established visionaries and rising voices alike.
Among the most anticipated titles is The Smashing Machine from A24, directed by Benny Safdie and starring Dwayne Johnson as UFC champion Mark Kerr, alongside Emily Blunt as his wife Dawn. Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with Emma Stone for Bugonia, a satirical drama distributed by Focus Features. Meanwhile, Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri, will debut out of competition, marking Roberts’ first appearance on the Venice red carpet.
Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited Frankenstein, starring Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, and Mia Goth, will headline Netflix’s formidable trio of competition entries. Also from the streamer are Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, a politically fraught thriller set in a fictional White House crisis, and Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, co-written with Emily Mortimer and starring George Clooney as a fading star in existential crisis.
Mubi enters the Venice fray with Paolo Sorrentino’s opener La Grazia, Jim Jarmusch’s ensemble triptych Father Mother Sister Brother, and Park Chan-wook’s 12th feature No Other Choice. The platform marks a notable presence, affirming its growing industry clout.
From Asia, Can Shangjun’s The Sun Rises on Us All and Shu Qi’s directorial debut Girl join the competition. The Middle East and North Africa are represented by Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, a poignant political film using real audio from a tragic 2024 event in Gaza, and Shahad Ameen’s Hijra, spotlighting intergenerational female solidarity in Saudi Arabia.
French cinema is well represented, with Olivier Assayas’ The Wizard of the Kremlin, starring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin, and François Ozon’s The Stranger, his adaptation of Albert Camus’ existential classic. Valérie Donzelli’s À Pied D’Oeuvre adds a personal narrative of creative pursuit.
Out-of-competition highlights include Julian Schnabel’s In The Hand of Dante, Gus Van Sant’s thriller Dead Man’s Wire, Sofia Coppola’s Marc by Sophia, Werner Herzog’s documentary Ghost Elephants, and Lucrezia Martel’s Nuestra Tierra.
Italian cinema plays a major role with Gianfranco Rosi’s documentary Below the Clouds, Pietro Marcello’s Duse, and Laura Samani’s A Year of School. The Horizons section also features The Kidnapping of Arabella by Carolina Cavalli, starring Benedetta Porcaroli and Chris Pine.
Television series are making waves, too. Marco Bellocchio’s Portobello, Stefano Sollima’s Netflix true-crime The Monster of Florence, Studiocanal’s A Prophet from Enrico Maria Artale, and Hagai Levi’s Etty, based on Etty Hillesum’s Holocaust diaries, will all premiere at the festival.
Festival head Barbera noted a growing challenge: most films now run between 2 hours and 15 minutes and 2 hours and 30 minutes. “It’s a bit worrying,” he admitted, citing programming difficulties.
Two-time Oscar winner Alexander Payne will preside over the main jury. The 82nd Venice International Film Festival runs from August 27 to September 6, promising ten days of bold, global, and provocative storytelling.
