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🇫🇷 France /Culture & Society

Venice Film Festival 2026: What to know about the 83rd edition opening Wednesday

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources New plan
  • The 83rd Venice Film Festival will run from Sept. 2 to 12, with 20 films competing for the Golden Lion.
  • Danny Boyle’s Rupert Murdoch biopic, Ink, will open the festival and also compete, while French and Italian directors feature prominently in the lineup.
  • The edition has drawn criticism for its limited number of women directors and the relative absence of major Hollywood names.

Venice will open its 83rd film festival with a biopic about Rupert Murdoch and a lineup that places French and Italian filmmakers in the spotlight. Danny Boyle’s Ink, which explores the revolution in British media, will launch the festival on Wednesday, Sept. 2, before competing for the Golden Lion.

It is not Venice’s fault that Hollywood is in crisis. I continue to dream.

— Alberto BarberaThe Venice festival director’s response to criticism about the limited presence of major Hollywood productions.

Twenty feature films will compete during the festival, which runs through Sept. 12. The selection includes Cédric Kahn, Florian Zeller, Stéphane Brizé and Nanni Moretti, giving the competition a strong presence from France and Italy.

The program has also attracted criticism. Only one woman director, May el-Toukhy, is in the running for the Golden Lion. Major Hollywood names are relatively scarce as well, a departure that has fueled debate around the selection.

It would be wrong to blame us for an absence that stems almost exclusively from the critical situation of the former and glorious American studios, most of which disappeared after a series of mergers.

— Alberto BarberaHis explanation for the shortage of major Hollywood films in the competition.

Festival director Alberto Barbera rejected the idea that Venice should be blamed for Hollywood’s absence. “It is not Venice’s fault that Hollywood is in crisis. I continue to dream,” he told the Italian newspaper La Stampa. He attributed the shortage largely to the difficult situation facing the once-prominent American studios, many of which have disappeared through a series of mergers.

an actor capable of embodying troubling and complex characters

— Alberto BarberaHis description of jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The festival will nonetheless place two American figures at the center of its honors. Maggie Gyllenhaal, an American actor and director, will chair the jury. George Clooney will receive an honorary Golden Lion for his career, with Laura Dern presenting the award. Ellen Burstyn, 93, will also receive an honorary Golden Lion. The Oscar-winning actor has appeared in more than 150 films and has worked in American cinema for more than five decades.

an accomplished and charismatic artist

— Alberto BarberaHis description of George Clooney ahead of the honorary Golden Lion award.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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