Venice Film Fest 2025: Lineup–Splashy, A-List Movies and Directors

Netflix, which sat out Vence last year, is back in force for 2025. Alongside Frankenstein, the streamer has Noah Baumbach’s comedy‑drama Jay Kelly, co-written with Emily Mortimer, and headlined by George Clooney, premiering in competition, and Kathryn Bigelow’s geopolitical thriller A House of Dynamite, starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Greta Lee.

The Venice line-up is embarrassment of riches, for award-watchers and regular film fans alike, with the competition selection including A-list auteurs Park Chan-wook (No Other Choice), François Ozon (L’Etranger), and Laszlo Nemes (Orphan).

A year after Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist launched in Venice, leading to 3 Oscar wins, the film’s co-writer (and producer) Mona Fastvold is in competition with The Testament of Ann Lee, historical drama musical film she co-wrote with Corbet.

And iconic indie director Jarmusch, a Cannes regular, will make his Lido debut with Mubi’s Father Mother Sister Brother, a triptych starring Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver.

Italian Oscar-winning Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) will open fest with La Grazia (Grace), a love story starring his long-time collaborator Toni Servillo. La Grazia, co-starring Diamonds actor Anna Ferzetti, will premiere in competition on Aug. 27. Mubi picked up the film ahead of its Venice bow.

Dog 51, a new action-packed French sci-fi thriller from Bac Nord director Cedric Jimenez will close the festival, out of competition.

Gus Van Sant’s return to feature films, Dead Man’s Wire, starring Bill Skarsgard, will also screen out of competition.

Other out of competition highlights include Anders Thomas Jensen’s Danish dark comedy The Last Viking starring Mads Mikkelsen, and Julian Schnabel’s long-awaited The Hand of Dante.

Venice’s Classic sidebar, which includes documentaries about cinema, will this year include Mike Figgis’ Megadoc, behind-the-scene look at the making of Coppola’s Megalopolis.

Two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne heads up this year’s jury as president, alongside Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, French director Stéphane Brizé, Italian director Maura Delpero, Chinese actress Zhao Tao, and Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, will pick the 2025 Golden Lion winner.

Opening Film

La Grazia, dir. Paolo Sorrentino (in competition)

Closing Film

Dog 51, dir. Cedric Jimenez (France)

In Competition

The Wizard of the Kremlin, dir. Olivier Assayas (France, U.S., U.K.)

Jay Kelly, dir. Noah Baumbach (U.S.)

A House of Dynamite, dir. Kathryn Bigelow (U.S.)

The Sun Rises On Us All, dir. Cai Shangjun (China)

Frankenstein, dir. Guillermo del Toro (U.S.)

Elisa, dir. Leonardo di Costanzo (Italy)

A Pied d’Oeuvre, dir. Valerie Donzelli (France)

Silent Friend, dir. Ildiko Enyedi (Germany, France, Hungary)

The Testament of Ann Lee, dir. Mona Fastvold (U.S.)

Bugonia, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos (U.S.)

Duse, Pietro Marcello (Italy)

Un Film Fatto Per Bene, dir. Franco Maresco (Italy)

Orphan, dir. Laszlo Nemes (Hungary)

No Other Choice, dir. Park Chan-wook (South Korea)

Sotto Le Nuvole, dir. Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)

Girl, dir. Shu Qi (China)

Out of Competition (Fiction)

Sermon to the Void, dir. Hilal Baydarov (Azerbaijan)

L’Isola di Andrea, dir. Antonio Capuano (Italy)

Il Maestro, dir Andrea di Stefano (Italy)

Hateshinaki Scarlet, dir. Mamoru Hosoda (Japan)

The Last Viking, dir. Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark)

In the Hand of Dante, dir. Julian Schnabel (U.K., Italy, Chile, U.S.)

La Valle dei Sorrisi, dir. Paolo Strippoli (Italy)

Dead Man’s Wire, dir. Gus Van Sant (U.S.)

Orfeo, dir. Virgilio Villoresi (Italy)

Out of Competition (Non-Fiction)

Kabul, Between Prayers, dir. Aboozar Amini (Netherlands)

Marc by Sofia, dir. Sofia Coppola (U.S.)

I Diari di Angela – Noi Due Cineasti. Capitolo Terzo, dirs. Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi (Italy)

Ghost Elephants, dir. Werner Herzog (U.S.)

My Father and Qaddafi, dir. Jihan K

The Tale of Sylian, dir. Tamara Kotevska (Macedonia)

Nuestra Tierra, dir. Lucrecia Martel (Argentina)

Kim Novak’s Vertigo, dir. Alexandre Philippe (U.S.)

Cover-Up, dir. Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus (U.S.)

Broken English, dirs. Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth (U.K.)

Notes of a True Criminal, dirs. Alexander Rodnyansky, Andriy Alferov (Ukraine)

Director’s Diary, dir. Aleksander Sokurov (Russia)

Back Home, dir. Tsai Ming-liang (Malaysia)

Out of Competition (Series)

Portobello, dir. Marco Bellocchio (Italy)

Un Prophete, dir. Enrico Maria Artale (France)

Etty, dir. Hagai Levi (Germany)

Il Mostro, dir. Stefano Sollima (Italy)

Venice Spotlight

Calle Malaga, dir. Maryam Touzani (Spain)

Hijra, dir. Shahad Ameen (Saudi Arabia, Iraq)

Un Cabo Suelto, dir. Daniel Hendler (Uruguay, Argentina)

Ammazzare Stanca, dir. Daniele Vicari (Italy)

Motor City, dir. Potsy Ponciroli (U.S.)

La Hija De la Espanola, dir. Mariana Rondon, Marite Ugas (Mexican)

A Bras-Le-Corps, dir. Marie-Elsa Sgualdo (France)

Out of Competition – Film & Music

Out of Nino. 18 Giorni, dir. Toni D’Angelo (Italy)

Piero Pulu. Rumore Dentro, dir. Francesco Fei (Italy)

Newport and the Great Folk Dream, dir. Robert Gordon (U.S.)

Francesco de Gregori Nevergreen, dir. Stefano Pistolini (Italy)

Horizons Competition

Mother, dir. Teona Strugar Mietevska (North Macedonia, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark)

Divine Comedy, dir. Ali Asgari (Iran)

Strange River, dir. Jaume Claret Muxart (Spain)

Lost Land, dir. Akio Fujimoto (Japan)

Rose of Nevada, dir. Mark Jenkin (U.K.)

Late Fame, dir. Kent Jones (U.S.)

Milk Teeth, dir. Mihai Mincan (Romania, France, Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria)

Pin de Fartie, dir. Alejo Moguillansky (Argentina)

Father, dir. Tereza Nvotova (Slovakia)

En El Camino, dir. David Pablos (Mexico)

Songs of Forgotten Trees, dir. Anuparna Roy (India)

Un Anno di Scuola, dir. Laura Samani (Italy)

The Souffleur, dir. Gaston Solnicki (Argentina, Austria)

Barrio Triste, dir. Stillz (Columbia, U.S.)

Human Resource, dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (Thailand)

Funeral Casino Blues, dir. Roderick Warich (Germany)