22/07/2025 - Great masters and new talents from different parts of the world, as always, in competition and out of competition, representing a large slice of today’s world cinema

In his presentation of the programme for the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival (27 August to 6 September - read the news about the titles selected in the Orizzonti and Venice Spotlight sections), artistic director Alberto Barbera glossed over the cliché of the union of great masters and new talents and on the numbers regarding geographical origins and gender, but we can confirm that, once again, Venice will offer an exceptional selection representing a large slice of contemporary world cinema (65 countries, with 33% of the directors being women) and that, as usual, it will certainly carry some of its titles to the Oscars.

Opening, as already announced, (read the news), with the new film by Paolo Sorrentino, La grazia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and closing in high tension with the dystopian thriller Dog 51 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by French filmmaker Cédric Jimenez (the director of BAC Nord [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and November [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], both selected out of competition in Cannes), the Mostra also casts its aces with the American titles in Competition: from the highly anticipated and already announced Frankenstein by Guillermo Del Toro, (already winner of the Golden Lion, with The Shape of Water in 2017) starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Christoph Waltz, to A House of Dynamite by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, and Jay Kelly [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Noah Baumbach, shot in Italy and starring George Clooney as an actor facing an identity crisis, and Adam Sandler, all three being Netflix titles; as well as Father Mother Sister Brother [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Jim Jarmusch, his return to Venice after his unique participation so far, out of competition in 2003 with his feature Coffee and Cigarettes, and The Smashing Machine by Benny Safdie.

Out of competition, in the fiction section, the new film by Gus Van Sant, Dead Man’s Wire, and the anticipated In the Hand of Dante by Julian Schnabel, and in the non-fiction category, new works by two winners of the Golden Lion: Cover-Up by Laura Poitras (winner for All the Beauty and the Bloodshed in 2022) and Mark Obenhaus, and Marc by Sofia by Sofia Coppola (winner for Somewhere in 2010). Also in the American camp is Luca Guadagnino’s new film, After the Hunt [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (out of competition by choice of the filmmaker and production company Amazon, and with Julia Roberts at the Lido for the first time), although it was almost entirely shot in London.

Also highly anticipated in competition is Bugonia [+see also:
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trailer
film profile], the new film by Venice regular Yorgos Lanthimos (another winner of the Golden Lion, in 2023 for Poor Things [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Suzy Bemba
Q&A: Yorgos Lanthimos
film profile]), who carries on his collaboration with Emma Stone. Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes, who had shocked everyone with his debut Son of Saul [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: László Nemes
interview: László Rajk
film profile], Grand Prize in Cannes and Oscar-winner, returns with another European co-production, Orphan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile], about the 1956 insurrection in Budapest, for which he abandons his usual one-take sequences. Also from Hungary comes Silent Friend, the new film by Ildikó Enyedi (Golden Bear for On Body and Soul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Réka Tenki
film profile]), starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai. There is also a lot of curiosity around the musical The Testament of Ann Lee, by Norwegian director Mona Fastvold, co-writer and producer of last year's Silver Lion for Best Director winner The Brutalist [+see also:
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trailer
film profile].

The French representation in competition is rich and reputable, as always. Standing out are the names of Olivier Assayas (already awarded in Venice for Something in the Air [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile]) who adapts the novel by Giuliano da Empoli with The Wizard of the Kremlin [+see also:
film review
film profile], on the unstoppable rise of Vladimir Putin (Jude Law) from the point of view of his imaginary spin doctor (Paul Dano); François Ozon with his brave adaptation of the novel by Albert Camus, The Stranger; Valérie Donzelli, in Venice for the first time, with À pied d’oeuvre [+see also:
film review
interview: Valérie Donzelli
film profile], starring Bastien Bouillon. Particular emotion will arise around The Voice of Hind Rajab, by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, who returns to venice after being in the Orizzonti section with The Man Who Sold His Skin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile], about a little girl trapped in a car in Gaza (with the real voices recorded by the Red Cross).

Besides Sorrentino, the Italian filmmakers in competition are Pietro Marcello (who returns to the section after Martin Eden [+see also:
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interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile]) with Duse [+see also:
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film profile], in which Valeria Bruni Tedeschi moves amongst archival material as the “divine” theatre actress Eleonora Duse; Gianfranco Rosi (Golden Lion in 2013 with Sacro GRA [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile]) returns with a new documentary, Below the Clouds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], dedicated to Naples; Leonardo di Costanzo with Elisa [+see also:
trailer
film profile], on the theme of reparative justice; Un film fatto per Bene [+see also:
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film profile] by Franco Maresco, an homage to the great actor, director and dramaturge Carmelo Bene.

The selection is rounded off by Park Chan-wook's new effort No Other Choice [+see also:
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film profile] and Chinese titles The Sun Rises on Us All by Cai Shangjun and Girl, first directorial effort by actress Shu Qi.

Out of competition, in the fiction category, we find The Last Viking [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sermon to the Void by Azerbaijani director Hilal Haydarov, produced by Carlos Reygadas, the first feature by Virgilio Villoresi Orfeo. 15 documentaries are Out of Competition in the non-fiction section, amongst which we will point out Ghost Elephants by maestro Werner Herzog, to whom the festival will give the Lifetime Golden Lion; the eagerly awaited documentary Nuestra tierra by Lucrecia Martel; Director’s Diary [+see also:
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film profile] by Alexander Sokurov; and Back Home by Tsai Ming-liang.

Also Out of Competition, amongst the series, are Portobello by Marco Bellocchio; A Prophet, based on the Jacques Audiard film, whose direction was entrusted to Italian director Enrico Artale; Il mostro by Stefano Sollima; and amongst the short films, new work by the beloved Charlie Kaufman, How to Shoot a Ghost. Finally, the brand-new Film & Music section has been introduced, and, as is tradition, many documentaries on cinema feature in the Venezia Classici section, and new films in the Biennale College Cinema programme.

The films in the sections:

Competition

La grazia [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Paolo Sorrentino (Italy) (opening film)
The Wizard of the Kremlin [+see also:
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film profile] - Olivier Assayas (France)
Jay Kelly [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Noah Baumbach (USA/UK/Italy)
The Voice of Hind Rajab - Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia/France)
A House of Dynamite - Kathryn Bigelow (USA)
The Sun Rises on Us All - Cai Shangjun (China)
Frankenstein - Guillermo del Toro (USA)
Elisa [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Leonardo Di Costanzo (Italy/Switzerland)
À pied d’oeuvre [+see also:
film review
interview: Valérie Donzelli
film profile] - Valérie Donzelli (France)
Silent Friend - Ildikó Enyedi (Germany/France/Hungary)
The Testament of Ann Lee - Mona Fastvold (USA/UK/Hungary)
Father Mother Sister Brother [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Jim Jarmusch (USA/France/Italy/Germany/Ireland)
Bugonia [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Yorgos Lanthimos (Ireland/UK/USA/South Korea)
Duse [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Pietro Marcello (Italy/France)
Un film fatto per Bene [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Franco Maresco (Italy)
Orphan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile] - László Nemes (Hungary/UK/Germany/France)
The Stranger - François Ozon (France/Belgium)
No Other Choice [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Park Chan-wook (South Korea/France)
Below the Clouds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Gianfranco Rosi (Italy/France)
The Smashing Machine - Benny Safdie (USA)
Girl - Shu Qi (China)

Out of Competition - Fiction

Sermon to the Void - Hilal Baydarov (Azerbaijan/Mexico/Turkey)
Andrea's Island - Antonio Capuano (Italy)
Il maestro - Andrea Di Stefano (Italy)
After the Hunt [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Luca Guadagnino (USA/Italy)
Scarlet - Mamoru Hosoda (Japan)
The Last Viking [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark/Sweden)
In the Hand of Dante - Julian Schnabel (USA/Italy)
The Holy Boy - Paolo Strippoli (Italy/Slovenia)
Dead Man's Wire - Gus Van Sant (USA)
Orfeo - Virgilio Villoresi (Italy)
Dog 51 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Cédric Jimenez (France) (closing film)

Out of Competition - Non-fiction

Kabul, Between Prayers - Aboozar Amini
Ferdinando Scianna - Il fotografo dell'ombra - Roberto Andò
Marc by Sofia - Sofia Coppola
I diari di Angela - Noi due cineasti. Capitolo terzo - Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi
Ghost Elephants - Werner Herzog (USA)
My Father and Qaddafi - Jihan K (USA/Libya)
The Tale of Silyan - Tamara Kotevska (North Macedonia/USA)
Landmarks - Lucrecia Martel (Argentina/USA/Mexico/France/Netherlands/Denmark)
Remake - Ross McElwee
Kim Novak's Vertigo - Alexandre Philippe
Cover-Up - Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus (USA)
Broken English [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth (UK)
Notes of a True Criminal - Alexander Rodnyansky, Andriy Alferov
Director’s Diary [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Aleksandr Sokurov (Italy/Russia)
Back Home - Tsai Ming-liang

Out of Competition - Film & Music

Nino. 18 giorni - Toni D'Angelo
Piero Pelù. Rumore dentro - Francesco Fei
Newport and the Great Folk Dream - Robert Gordon
Francesco de Gregori Nevergreen - Stefano Pistolini

Out of Competition - Series

Portobello - Marco Bellocchio
A Prophet - Enrico Maria Artale (France)
Etty - Hagai Levi
Il mostro - Stefano Sollima

Out of Competition - Short Films

Origin - Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Boomerang Atomic - Rachid Bouchareb
How to Shoot a Ghost - Charlie Kaufman

Venice Classics

Mata Hari - Joe Beshenkovsky, James A Smith
Elvira Notari: Oltre il silenzio - Valerio Ciriaci
Louis Malle, le révolté - Claire Duguet
Memoria de los olvidados - Javier Espada
Megadoc - Mike Figgis
Boorman and the Devil - David Kittredge
Holofiction - Michal Kosakowski
Sangre del toro - Yves Montmayeur
The Ozu Diaries - Daniel Raim

Biennale College Cinema

Agnus Dei - Massimiliano Camaiti
One Woman One Bra - Vincho Nchogu
Becoming Human - Polen Ly
Secret of a Mountain Serpent - Nidhi Saxena

(Translated from Italian)