Venice Film Festival 2025: The Lineup Is Loud, Luxe, and Loaded With Contenders.
The 82nd Venice International Film Festival is pulling no punches. With a lineup that blends auteur heat, A-list glamour, and streaming giants flexing hard, this year’s edition feels like a power move from the Lido straight into awards season.
Netflix is back in a big way, bringing prestige muscle with films from Guillermo del Toro, Kathryn Bigelow, and Noah Baumbach. Meanwhile, Paolo Sorrentino’s return to competition, a buzzy MMA biopic starring Dwayne Johnson, and politically charged titles from global heavyweights promise a festival stacked with energy, elegance, and edge.
From the Grand Canal to the Dolby Theatre, the road to Oscar season might just start here.
Netflix Returns With Prestige Firepower
After years of tension with European festivals, Netflix is back in Venice with its biggest slate yet—and it’s coming for trophies.
Guillermo del Toro leads the charge with Frankenstein, a dark, ambitious reimagining starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth.
Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly reunites the director with Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig in a fractured family drama that already screams Oscar bait.
Meanwhile, Kathryn Bigelow crashes into the conversation with A House of Dynamite, a ticking-clock thriller set against a volatile American backdrop.
Venice 2025 is clearly Netflix’s chosen arena—and the streamer’s not just showing up, it’s taking over.
Auteur Alley: Lanthimos, Sorrentino, Jarmusch, and the Boys
If you’re the type to track auteurs like pop stars, then the Venice International Film Festival 2025 is your Super Bowl.
Paolo Sorrentino opens the fest with La Grazia, a reportedly dreamlike meditation on womanhood, loss, and faith that marks his return to the Catholic textures of The Great Beauty.
Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with Emma Stone for Bugonia, a sci-fi remake with bite, while Jim Jarmusch premieres Father Mother Sister Brother, his first feature since The Dead Don’t Die.
This is a competition lineup built for Letterboxd addicts and film school romantics.
Venice International Film Festival: Star Power Mode Activated
Don’t be fooled by the art-house haze—Venice 2025 is stacked with serious celebrity energy.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson muscles into awards territory with Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, playing MMA legend Mark Kerr in what might be his most emotionally raw role to date.
Julia Roberts headlines Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt—an intense, out‑of‑competition thriller that marks her Lido return. Oscar Isaac anchors Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, while George Clooney appears on-screen in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, playing a star actor on an introspective European trek.
Expect flashbulbs. Expect standing ovations. Expect memes.
OK we’ve made you wait enough, now let’s take a look at the lineup:
Venice International Film Festival – In Competition
LA GRAZIA – OPENING FILM
by PAOLO SORRENTINO
(Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti | Italy)
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THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN
by OLIVIER ASSAYAS
(Paul Dano, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, Jeffrey Wright | France)
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JAY KELLY
by NOAH BAUMBACH
(George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Greta Gerwig, Alba Rohrwacher, Josh Hamilton, Isla Fisher | USA, UK, Italy)
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THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB
by KAOUTHER BEN HANIA
(Amer Hlehel, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees, Saja Kilani } Tunisia, France)
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A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
by KATHRYN BIGELOW
(Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke | USA)
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RI GUA ZHONG TIAN (THE SUN RISES ON US ALL)
by CAI SHANGJUN
(Xin Zhilei, Zhang Songwen, Feng Shaofeng | China)
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FRANKENSTEIN
by GUILLERMO DEL TORO
(Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Charles Dance, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Convery | USA)
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ELISA
by LEONARDO DI COSTANZO
(Barbara Ronchi, Roschdy Zem, Diego Ribon, Valeria Golino | Italy, Switzerland)
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À PIED D’OEUVRE (AT WORK)
by VALÉRIE DONZELLI
(Bastien Bouillon, André Marcon, Virginie Ledoyen | France)
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SILENT FRIEND
by ILDIKÓ ENYEDI
(Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Sylvester Groth, Martin Wuttke, Johannes Hegemann, Rainer Bock, Léa Seydoux | Germany, France, Hungary)
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THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE
by MONA FASTVOLD
(Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Jamie Bogyo, Viola Prettejohn, David Cale | UK)
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FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER
by JIM JARMUSCH
(Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Sarah Greene, Indya Moore, Luka Sabbat, Françoise Lebrun | USA, Ireland, France)
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BUGONIA
by YORGOS LANTHIMOS
(Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone | UK)
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DUSE
by PIETRO MARCELLO
(Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Fanni Wrochna, Noémie Merlant, Fausto Russo Alesi, Edoardo Sorgente, Vincenzo Nemolato, Gaja Masciale, Vincenza Modica, Mimmo Borrelli, Savino Paparella | Italy)
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UN FILM FATTO PER BENE (BRAVO BENE!)
with FRANCO MARESCO
(Documentary | Italy)
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ORPHAN
by LÁSZLÓ NEMES
(Bojtorján Barábas, Andrea Waskovics, Grégory Gadebois, Elíz Szabó, Sándor Soma, Marcin Czarnik | Hungary, UK, Germany, France)
___
L’ÉTRANGER (THE STRANGER)
by FRANÇOIS OZON
(Benjamin Voisin, Rebecca Marder, Pierre Lottin, Denis Lavant, Swann Arlaud | France)
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EOJJEOL SUGA EOPDA (NO OTHER CHOICE)
by PARK CHAN-WOOK
(Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won | South Korea)
___
SOTTO LE NUVOLE (BELOW THE CLOUDS)
by GIANFRANCO ROSI
(Documentary | Italy)
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THE SMASHING MACHINE
by BENNY SAFDIE
(Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt | USA)
___
NÜHAI (GIRL)
by SHU QI
(Roy Chiu, 9m88, Bai Xiao-Ying | Taipei)
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Venice International Film Festival – Out of Competition
CHIEN 51 – CLOSING FILM
by CÉDRIC JIMENEZ
(Gilles Lellouche, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Louis Garrel, Romain Duris, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Artus, Lala &ce, Stéphane Bak, Thomas Bangalter | France)
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BOŞLUĞA XÜTBƏ (SERMON TO THE VOID)
by HILAL BAYDAROV
(Huseyn Nasirov, Maryam Naghiyeva, Rana Asgarova, Elshan Abbasov, Orkhan Iskandarli | Azerbaijan, Mexico, Turkey)
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L’ISOLA DI ANDREA (ANDREA’S ISLAND)
by ANTONIO CAPUANO
(Teresa Saponangelo, Vinicio Marchioni, Andrea Migliucci | Italy)
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IL MAESTRO (MY TENNIS MAESTRO)
by ANDREA DI STEFANO
(Pierfrancesco Favino, Tiziano Menichelli, Giovanni Ludeno, Dora Romano, Paolo Briguglia, Valentina Bellè, Edwige Fenech | Italy)
___
AFTER THE HUNT
by LUCA GUADAGNINO
(Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny | USA)
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HATESHINAKI SCARLET
by MAMORU HOSODA
(Animation | Japan)
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DEN SIDSTE VIKING (THE LAST VIKING)
by ANDERS THOMAS JENSEN
(Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Sofie Gråbøl, Bodil Jørgensen, Lars Brygmann, Søren Malling, Kardo Razzazi, Peter Düring | Denmark, Sweden)
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IN THE HAND OF DANTE
by JULIAN SCHNABEL
(Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino, John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese, Jason Momoa, Louis Cancelmi, Franco Nero, Sabrina Impacciatore, Benjamin Clementine | USA)
___
LA VALLE DEI SORRISI (THE HOLY BOY)
by PAOLO STRIPPOLI
(Michele Riondino, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Giulio Feltri, Paolo Pierobon | Italy, Slovenia)
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DEAD MAN’S WIRE
by GUS VAN SANT
(Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Al Pacino | USA)
___
ORFEO
by VIRGILIO VILLORESI
(Luca Vergoni, Giulia Maenza, Aomi Muyock, Vinicio Marchioni | Italy)
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NON-FICTION
KABUL, BETWEEN PRAYERS
by ABOOZAR AMINI
(The Netherlands, Belgium)
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FERDINANDO SCIANNA – IL FOTOGRAFO DELL’OMBRA (FERDINANDO SCIANNA – THE PHOTOGRAPHER OF SHADOWS)
by ROBERTO ANDÒ
(Italy)
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MARC BY SOFIA
by SOFIA COPPOLA
(USA)
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I DIARI DI ANGELA – NOI DUE CINEASTI. CAPITOLO TERZO (ANGELA’S DIARIES – TWO FILMMAKERS – CHAPTER 3)
by YERVANT GIANIKIAN, ANGELA RICCI LUCCHI
(Italy)
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GHOST ELEPHANTS
by WERNER HERZOG
(USA)
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BABA WA AL-QADHAFI (MY FATHER AND QADDAFI)
by JIHAN K
(USA, Libya)
___
THE TALE OF SYLIAN
by TAMARA KOTEVSKA
(North Macedonia)
___
NUESTRA TIERRA (LANDMARKS)
by LUCRECIA MARTEL
(Comunidad Chuschagasta | Argentina, USA, Mexico, France, The Netherlands, Denmark)
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REMAKE
by ROSS MCELWEE
(USA)
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KIM NOVAK’S VERTIGO
by ALEXANDRE PHILIPPE
(USA)
___
COVER-UP
by LAURA POITRAS, MARK OBENHAUS
(USA)
___
BROKEN ENGLISH
by JANE POLLARD, IAIN FORSYTH
(UK)
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ZAPISKI NASTOYASHEGO PRESTUPNIKA (NOTES OF A TRUE CRIMINAL)
by ALEXANDER RODNYANSKY, ANDRIY ALFEROV
(Ukraine, USA)
___
DIRECTOR’S DIARY
by ALEKSANDR SOKUROV
(Russia, Italy)
___
HUI JIA (BACK HOME)
by TSAI MING-LIANG
(Taipei)
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NINO. 18 GIORNI (NINO. 18 DAYS)
by TONI D’ANGELO
(Italy)
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PIERO PELÙ. RUMORE DENTRO (NOISE INSIDE. DON’T CALL ME A ROCK STAR)
by FRANCESCO FEI
(Italy)
___
NEWPORT AND THE GREAT FOLK DREAM
by ROBERT GORDON, JOE LAURO
(USA)
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FRANCESCO DE GREGORI NEVERGREEN
by STEFANO PISTOLINI
(Italy)
Venice International Film Festival – Out of Competition: Series
UN PROPHÈTE (A PROPHET) (EP. 1-8)
by ENRICO MARIA ARTALE
(Sami Bouajila, Mamadou Sidibé, Ouassini Embarek, Salim Kechiouche, Matthieu Lucci, Naïla Harzoune, Faued Nabba, Hugo Dillon, Rachid Guellaz, Guilaine Londez, Moussa Maaskri | France)
___
PORTOBELLO (EP. 1-2)
by MARCO BELLOCCHIO
(Fabrizio Gifuni, Lino Musella, Barbora Bobulova, Romana Maggiora Vergano | Italy, France)
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ETTY (EP. 1-6)
by HAGAI LEVI
(Julia Windischbauer, Sebastian Koch | France, Germany, The Netherlands)
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IL MOSTRO (THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE) (EP. 1-4)
by STEFANO SOLLIMA
(Marco Bullitta, Valentino Mannias, Francesca Olia, Liliana Bottone, Giacomo Fadda, Antonio Tintis, Giordano Mannu | Italy)
Venice International Film Festival – Out of Competition: Short Films
ORIGIN
by YANN ARTHUS-BERTRAND
(France)
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BOOMERANG ATOMIC
by RACHID BOUCHAREB
(Documentary | France)
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HOW TO SHOOT A GHOST
by CHARLIE KAUFMAN
(Jessie Buckley, Josef Akiki | USA, Greece)
Venice International Film Festival – ORIZZONTI
Tucked just beyond the red carpet frenzy, the Orizzonti (Horizons) section is where Venice gets bold. Focused on fresh voices and experimental storytelling, it’s the festival’s space for boundary-pushing cinema from around the globe. With its own jury and major prizes—including Best Film and Best Director—Orizzonti often delivers breakout gems long before the mainstream catches on.
MOTHER – OPENING FILM
by TEONA STRUGAR MITEVSKA
(Noomi Rapace, Sylvia Hoeks, Nikola Ristanovski | Belgium, North Macedonia, Sweden, Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
___
KOMEDIE ELAHI (DIVINE COMEDY)
by ALI ASGARI
(Bahram Ark, Sadaf Asgari, Hossein Soleimani, Bahman Ark, Mohammad Soori, Amirreza Ranjbaran | Iran, Italy, France, Germany, Turkey)
___
HIEDRA (THE IVY)
by ANA CRISTINA BARRAGÁN
(Simone Bucio, Francis Eddú Llumiquinga | Ecuador, Mexico, France, Spain)
___
IL RAPIMENTO DI ARABELLA
by CAROLINA CAVALLI
(Benedetta Porcaroli, Lucrezia Guglielmino, Chris Pine, Marco Bonadei, Eva Robin’s | Italy)
___
ESTRANY RIU (STRANGE RIVER)
by JAUME CLARET MUXART
(Jan Monter, Nausicaa Bonnín, Francesco Wenz, Jordi Oriol, Bernat Solé, Roc Colell | Spain, Germany)
___
HARÀ WATAN (LOST LAND)
by AKIO FUJIMOTO
(Muhammad Shofik Rias Uddin, Shomira Rias Uddin | Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany)
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GRAND CIEL (THE SITE)
by AKIHIRO HATA
(Damien Bonnard, Samir Guesmi, Mouna Soualem | France, Luxembourg)
___
ROSE OF NEVADA
by MARK JENKIN
(George MacKay, Callum Turner, Francis Magee, Edward Rowe, Rosalind Eleazar, Mary Woodvine | UK)
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LATE FAME
by KENT JONES
(Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee, Edmund Donovan | USA)
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DINȚI DE LAPTE (MILK TEETH)
by MIHAI MINCAN
(Emma Ioana Mogos, Marina Palii, Igor Babiac, Istvan Teglas | Romania, France, Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria)
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PIN DE FARTIE
by ALEJO MOGUILLANSKY
(Santiago Gobernori, Cleo Moguillansky, Laura Paredes, Marcos Ferrante, Luciana Acuña, Maxi Prietto, Laura López Moyano, Fernando Tur, Margarita Fernández, Alejo Moguillansky | Argentina)
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OTEC (FATHER)
by TEREZA NVOTOVÁ
(Milan Ondrík, Dominika Morávková, Dominika Zajcz, Martina Sľúková, Aňa Geislerová, Peter Ondrejička, Peter Bebjak, Ingrid Timková, Roman Polák | Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland)
___
EN EL CAMINO (ON THE ROAD)
by DAVID PABLOS
(Victor Prieto Simental, Osvaldo Sanchez Valenzuela | Mexico, France)
___
SONGS OF FORGOTTEN TREES
by ANUPARNA ROY
(Naaz Shaikh, Sumi Baghel, Bhusan Shimpi, Ravi S Mann, Pritam Pilania, Lovely Singh | India)
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UN ANNO DI SCUOLA (A YEAR OF SCHOOL)
by LAURA SAMANI
(Stella Wendick, Giacomo Covi, Pietro Giustolisi, Samuel Volturno | Italy, France)
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THE SOUFFLEUR
by GASTÓN SOLNICKI
(Willem Dafoe, Lilly Lindner, Claus Philip, Stephanie Argerich, Gastón Solnicki | Austria, Argentina)
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BARRIO TRISTE
by STILLZ
(Juan Pablo Baena, Samuel Velazquez, Tomas Tinoco Higuita, Bryan Erlin Garcia, Samuel Andres Celis, Brahian Acecedo, Samuel Ruiz, Estiven Salazar, Jose Arley Marin Gonzalez | Colombia, USA)
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HUMAN RESOURCE
by NAWAPOL THAMRONGRATTANARIT
(Prapamonton Eiamchan, Paopetch Charoensook, Chanakan Rattana-Udom, Pimmada Chaisaksoen | Thailand)
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FUNERAL CASINO BLUES
by RODERICK WARICH
(Jutamat Lamoon, Wason Dokkathum, Jutarat Burinok | Germany)
From Venice, With Buzz: The Road to Oscar Begins
With a lineup this stacked, Venice 2025 is shaping up to be more than just a festival—it’s the first true battleground of awards season. From high-concept auteur visions to raw star turns and breakthrough indies tucked into the Orizzonti sidebar, this year’s edition promises to set the tone for what we’ll be watching (and arguing about) all the way to Oscar night.
Whether you’re in it for the prestige pics, the political punches, or just here to see what Emma Stone wears—one thing’s clear: all eyes are on the Lido.
We can’t wait for the Venice International Film Festival 2025.
Signed, sealed, Pinksooped 💅
