From August 27 to September 6, 2025, the Lido of Venice once again becomes a global vantage point on contemporary cinema. The 82nd edition of the Venice International Film Festival, directed by Alberto Barbera, opens with a tribute to Goffredo Fofi, a towering figure in Italian film criticism who passed away earlier this year. Excerpts from Goffredo bellissimo, an unfinished project by Franco Maresco, were screened at the beginning and end of the official press conference.
This year’s main competition gathers 21 films from across the globe, with a notably strong and varied American presence. Alongside them, five Italian films enter the race for the Golden Lion — works that resist imitation, instead offering perspectives grounded in the country’s own social and aesthetic contexts.
Opening the festival is La grazia by Paolo Sorrentino, who returns to Venice following his Silver Lion win for The Hand of God. Joining him in competition are Elisa by Leonardo Di Costanzo, Duse by Pietro Marcello, Un film fatto per bene by Franco Maresco, and Sotto le nuvole by Gianfranco Rosi.
Among the most anticipated entries are several American productions or films helmed by U.S.-based filmmakers. Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro, a decade-long passion project backed by Netflix, reimagines Mary Shelley’s novel with a cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, Jacob Elordi, and Christoph Waltz. The film marks a highly awaited return to form for the director of The Shape of Water.
Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, explores a community fractured by suspicion and unrest. Jim Jarmusch makes his first appearance in the Venice competition with Father Mother Sister Brother, a triptych centered on familial ties, featuring Tom Waits, Cate Blanchett, and Adam Driver.
The Smashing Machine by Benny Safdie delivers a stark portrait of wrestling champion Mark Kerr, with Dwayne Johnson offering what has already been described as his most vulnerable performance to date. Noah Baumbach returns with Jay Kelly, a comedic reflection on masculinity co-written with Greta Gerwig and starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, and Laura Dern — with several sequences shot in Italy.
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The American contingent expands further. Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee is set in an 18th-century Shaker community in New England. Laura Poitras explores the legacy of investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in her documentary Cover-Up. Sofia Coppola’s Marc by Sofia offers a layered portrait of designer Marc Jacobs, while Broken English by Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth reflects on the final years of Marianne Faithfull.
Meanwhile, After the Hunt, Luca Guadagnino’s latest feature, screens out of competition and will mark Julia Roberts’ first-ever appearance at Venice. Set within the closed world of an American university, the film — which also stars Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield — unpacks the emotional and institutional fallout of a harassment accusation, and is poised to be one of the festival’s most talked-about titles.
Other notable U.S. entries include Bugonia by Yorgos Lanthimos — an English-language remake of the South Korean cult film Save the Green Planet! with Emma Stone — and Hamnet by Chloé Zhao, a historical drama inspired by the short life of Shakespeare’s son, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley.
American influence is also felt in the nonfiction program. Newport and the Great Folk Dream by Robert Gordon who revisits the early-1960s golden age of the Newport Folk Festival, the same era evoked in last year’s A Complete Unknown by James Mangold.
A separate documentary strand, “Cinema on Cinema,” includes portraits of Guillermo Del Toro, John Boorman, Kim Novak, Louis Malle, and a series of works examining Holocaust cinema.
While American productions dominate the main slate, Italian cinema asserts itself elsewhere. Il maestro by Andrea Di Stefano (starring Pierfrancesco Favino), La valle dei sorrisi by Paolo Strippoli, L’isola di Andrea by Antonio Capuano, and Orfeo by Virgilio Villoresi are all screening out of competition. The latter adapts a visual poem by Dino Buzzati, blending stop-motion animation with live action.
Beyond the film program, Venice 82 also hosts four high-profile television premieres. These include Un prophète, a serialized adaptation of Jacques Audiard’s acclaimed film; Il mostro, directed by Stefano Sollima; and Portobello, Marco Bellocchio’s new project, set to debut on HBO Max in 2026.
The official competition jury is chaired by American filmmaker Alexander Payne, joined by Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu, Mohammad Rasoulof, Fernanda Torres, and Zhao Tao. Lifetime Golden Lions will be awarded to Kim Novak and Werner Herzog.
