The 2026 Venice Film Festival has unveiled a programme with a stronger focus on independent and auteur-driven cinema, featuring fewer films from major Hollywood studios than in recent years. Despite that, organisers expect another star-studded edition when the festival runs from 2 to 12 September.
Star-studded line-up
Actors including George Clooney, Robert Pattinson, John Malkovich, Penélope Cruz, Rooney Mara and Javier Bardem are expected to attend the festival, while Liam and Noel Gallagher will premiere a documentary about Oasis.
The main competition features new films from acclaimed directors including Martin McDonagh, Danny Boyle, Florian Zeller, Werner Herzog and Hirokazu Kore-eda, all competing for the Golden Lion.
The festival will open with Ink, directed by Danny Boyle, starring Guy Pearce as media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Martin McDonagh also returns to Venice with Wild Horse Nine.
Record submissions
Festival director Alberto Barbera said organisers reviewed a record 4,500 submissions, highlighting the continued strength of global filmmaking despite a more limited Hollywood presence.
Major studios and streaming platforms have scaled back their participation at Europe’s leading film festivals amid tighter budgets, slower production schedules and concerns about critical reception.
Documentaries and AI
Outside the main competition, the festival will host the world premiere of Don’t Look Back in Anger, a documentary exploring the Gallagher brothers’ relationship and their 2025 Oasis reunion tour.
Other documentaries include filmmaker Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour film about Elon Musk, Russell Crowe’s music documentary What Love Builds, and Be Brave, a film about Diesel founder Renzo Rosso created almost entirely using artificial intelligence.
Among the 20 films competing for the Golden Lion, only one is directed by a woman. Danish filmmaker May El-Toukhy’s drama Woman Unknown is the sole female-directed film in competition.
The festival jury will be chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal, while George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn will receive Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Awards.
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