The Venice Film Festival revealed its 2026 slate Thursday, confirming a lineup heavy on veteran auteurs and light on Hollywood tentpoles for the festival’s 83rd edition, running September 2 through 12 on the Lido.
Danny Boyle’s “Ink” opens the festival and will compete for the Golden Lion. The film follows Rupert Murdoch’s 1960s acquisition of The Sun, with Guy Pearce playing the media magnate and Jack O’Connell as editor Larry Lamb; Netflix has already picked up U.S. rights. Giovanni Veronesi’s “Dio Ride,” a 17th-century tale starring Pierfrancesco Favino as a philosophizing friar, closes the festival out of competition.
The main competition draws from a roster of established international filmmakers rather than the starrier commercial fare that has sometimes filled recent editions. Martin McDonagh, Florian Zeller, Lee Chang-dong, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Werner Herzog and May el-Toukhy all have new work in contention, alongside films from Julia Loktev, Tsai Ming-liang, Lav Diaz, Luca Guadagnino, Paul Schrader and Wim Wenders. Maggie Gyllenhaal chairs the jury, joined by Kaouther Ben Hania, Johnnie To, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Daniel Blumberg and Francesco Casetti.
Out-of-competition selections include Kornel Mundruczo’s “Place to Be,” with Ellen Burstyn, Taika Waititi and Pamela Anderson, and “Father Joe,” a Luc Besson-produced crime thriller from Barthelemy Grossman starring Kiefer Sutherland and Al Pacino. A documentary on Oasis’ reunion tour and Alex Gibney’s long-delayed Elon Musk film round out the nonfiction slate, with the Gibney project reportedly running close to four hours. Festival organizers will present honorary Golden Lions to George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn for career achievement.
Talent expected on the Lido this year includes Robert Pattinson, Penélope Cruz and Alicia Vikander, along with Oasis members Noel and Liam Gallagher tied to the band’s documentary premiere. Venice remains distinct among the fall festival circuit for screening only world premieres, a policy that has helped position the festival as an early launch pad for films that go on to awards-season contention.
The lineup follows a lighter Hollywood presence at this year’s Cannes festival, a pattern industry watchers have linked to shifting release strategies among major studios. Venice’s parallel sections, including Critics’ Week and Giornate degli Autori, unveiled their own selections earlier in the week, with Giornate degli Autori built around a lineup skewing toward female filmmakers.
