Venice Film Festival Unveils 2026 Line Up

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Venice Film Festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, has revealed the line-up for the 83rd edition, running on the Lido from 2 to 12 September 2026, with a competition slate dominated by auteur cinema rather than big studio names. FilmFestivals

Danny Boyle’s Rupert Murdoch biopic Ink, starring Guy Pearce as the media mogul alongside Jack O’Connell and Claire Foy, will open the festival, while Giovanni Veronesi’s Dio Ride closes it.

The Golden Lion competition also features new work from Martin McDonagh, whose black comedy Wild Horse Nine stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA officers sent to Easter Island ahead of the 1973 Chilean coup, alongside films from Florian Zeller, Lee Chang-dong, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Werner Herzog, May el-Toukhy and Casey Affleck.

Robert Pattinson features in Primetime, one of several starry titles alongside new work from Julia Loktev, Tsai Ming-liang, Lav Diaz, Luca Guadagnino, Nanni Moretti, Lance Oppenheim and Paul Schrader.

Out of competition, highlights include Kornél Mundruczó’s Place to Be, starring Ellen Burstyn, Taika Waititi and Pamela Anderson, plus a documentary on the Oasis reunion tour and Alex Gibney’s long-awaited film on Elon Musk.

Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal will preside over this year’s competition jury, joined by Kaouther Ben Hania, Johnnie To, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Daniel Blumberg and Francesco Casetti.

George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn will receive honorary Golden Lion awards for lifetime achievement.

As is customary, Venice will showcase world premieres exclusively, distinguishing it from fellow autumn festivals Telluride and Toronto.

The festival’s independent sidebar, Venice Days, marking its 23rd edition, is dedicated to the memory of its late founder Giorgio Gosetti, who died in March.

It will present 25 world premieres, more than half directed by women, opening with Lili Horvát’s English-language debut My Notes on Mars, starring Mackenzie Davis and Rupert Friend. Movies

Venice Critics’ Week, the sidebar curated by Italy’s national union of film critics, has also unveiled a politically charged selection of seven debut features, opening with Marco Santi’s Il Grande Giaffa and closing with the Milan-set musical Rider.