The 82nd Venice International Film Festival opens this week, marking the official start of the global cinematic awards season. Featuring 21 films in competition for the coveted Golden Lion, the festival presents a diverse lineup of politically charged dramas, historical epics, and star-driven features, alongside a strong documentary slate. With major names from around the world, both behind and in front of the camera, the Venice Lido once again becomes a focal point for the international film community.
As the leading international cinema event of the fall, the Venice Film Festival welcomes a flurry of stars and a strong selection of films, many with a distinctly political tone.
21 Films Competing for the Golden Lion
Among the 21 films vying for the Golden Lion, the most anticipated include:
- Le mage du Kremlin, by Olivier Assayas
An adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s bestseller, depicting the rise to power of Vladimir Putin, as seen through the eyes of one of his closest advisors. Jude Law portrays the Kremlin's strongman. - A House of Dynamite, by Kathryn Bigelow
The Zero Dark Thirty director returns with her first film since 2017. Here, she tells the story of White House officials facing the imminent threat of a nuclear attack. - The Smashing Machine, by Benny Safdie
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays an MMA fighter battling addiction, a tailor-made “Oscar-worthy” role for the former wrestler turned Hollywood star. - The Voice of Hind Rajab, by Kaouther Ben Hania
This drama reconstructs the killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli troops in Gaza in January 2024, one of the festival's most politically charged films. - The Testament of Ann Lee, by Mona Fastvold
A musical film about the life of Ann Lee, the religious leader of the radical 18th-century American sect, the Shakers. Directed by Mona Fastvold, co-writer of The Brutalist by Brady Corbet. - Frankenstein, by Guillermo del Toro
A big-budget modern retelling of the Frankenstein myth, directed by the Mexican master of fantasy cinema. - Jay Kelly, by Noah Baumbach
A comedy co-written by Noah Baumbach and his wife Greta Gerwig, starring George Clooney as an actor facing an existential crisis. - Bugonia, by Yorgos Lanthimos
A new collaboration between the Greek director and Emma Stone, who won an Oscar for Poor Things, last year’s Golden Lion winner in Venice. - No Other Choice, by Park Chan-wook
The South Korean director returns to Venice with a thriller adapted from The Ax by Donald Westlake, previously filmed by Costa-Gavras in 2005. - L’étranger, by François Ozon
A bold adaptation of Albert Camus’ timeless novel, one of the most translated and best-selling French books in the world. Filmed in black and white, with Benjamin Voisin in the lead role. - Nuhai (Girl), by Shu Qi
Taiwanese superstar Shu Qi, known for her roles in Hou Hsiao-hsien films, makes her directorial debut with a multigenerational story about women.
Documentary Highlights
German director Werner Herzog will present his latest film, Ghost Elephants, tracking a mysterious herd of “ghost elephants” in the jungles of Angola. At 82, Herzog known for seamlessly moving between fiction and documentary will receive a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the opening ceremony.
Another highly anticipated documentary is a portrait of journalist Seymour Hersh, who exposed numerous scandals involving the U.S. military. The film is directed by Laura Poitras, who won in Venice in 2022 for her documentary on photographer Nan Goldin’s campaign against the opioid industry.
Sofia Coppola will present a documentary about her friend, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, while Mike Figgis will show a behind-the-scenes look at Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. The film, in which Coppola invested $120 million of his own money, premiered at Cannes in 2024 and left audiences divided, some calling it a “modern masterpiece,” others “a disaster.”
Finally, in the realm of music, a documentary will explore the life and work of singer Marianne Faithfull, who passed away in January.
With AFP
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