Venice Film Festival Unveils 2026 Official Selection

The Venice International Film Festival has announced the official lineup for its 2026 edition, featuring a diverse mix of acclaimed auteurs, anticipated premieres and star-studded productions. The festival will run from September 2 to 12 on the Lido.

Artistic director Alberto Barbera unveiled a competition slate that is noticeably leaner on studio and streaming titles than in recent years, while the selection is overwhelmingly dominated by films directed by men.

Among the most anticipated world premieres is Martin McDonagh's black comedy Wild Horse Nine, a CIA drama set in the lead-up to Chile's 1973 coup. Backed by Searchlight Pictures, the film stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi. McDonagh previously launched both The Banshees of Inisherin and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri at Venice.

Also competing is Florian Zeller's psychological thriller Bunker, featuring Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Stephen Graham, Paul Dano and Patrick Schwarzenegger. The story follows an architect whose marriage begins to unravel after he accepts a commission to build a survival bunker for a billionaire. Zeller won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with The Father and last competed at Venice with The Son.

South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong returns after an eight-year absence with Possible Love, his first feature since Burning. Produced by Netflix, the drama explores the intertwined lives of two married couples and stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong.

Asian cinema is further represented by Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose live-action adaptation of the bestselling manga Look Back joins the competition. Fellow Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto will premiere Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?, inspired by the experiences of an African American Vietnam War veteran.

Veteran German filmmaker Werner Herzog returns to Venice with Bucking Fastard, based on the true story of inseparable twin sisters and starring real-life siblings Rooney Mara and Kate Mara. Herzog received the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award last year.

Among the 20 competition titles, May El-Toukhy's Woman Unknown is the only film directed by a woman, marking a significant decline from last year's lineup, which featured six female-directed films.

Italian cinema well represented

Italy has five films in competition, including Nanni Moretti's romantic comedy It Will Happen Tonight, starring Louis Garrel and Jasmine Trinca. Edoardo De Angelis returns with Il Fuoco Che Ti Porti Dentro, while Andrea Pallaoro presents The Echo Chamber, featuring Alicia Vikander, Luca Marinelli and Susan Sarandon.

Barbera also noted the unusually long running times of several entries. The most extensive is Ilya Khrzhanovsky's Dau, running 210 minutes as the latest chapter in his ambitious Dau project.

Other competition highlights include Casey Affleck's directorial effort Company, Iranian filmmaker Ali Asgari's political drama A Bit of Light, Stéphane Brizé's A Good Little Soldier, and Cédric Kahn's A Place to Heal, set in a French adolescent psychiatric unit.

Strong documentary slate

The out-of-competition programme features an extensive documentary lineup, including Russell Crowe's music documentary What Love Builds, Alex Gibney's Musk, Sergei Loznitsa's Imperium, Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, Takashi Miike's Shumei – The Living Legacy of Kabuki, Everest: The Other Side by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, and Wim Wenders' architectural portrait From Inside Out – The Architecture of Peter Zumthor.

The documentary selection also includes two films addressing the Israel-Gaza conflict: Amos Gitai's The Road to Jericho and Ahmed Hassouna's Citizen Osama.

Beyond competition

Among the out-of-competition fiction titles are Paul Schrader's The Basics of Philosophy, starring Jack Huston, Bill Pullman and Sofia Boutella, and Kornél Mundruczó's Place to Be, featuring Ellen Burstyn, Taika Waititi and Pamela Anderson.

The Horizons (Orizzonti) section will open with Alina Marazzi's period drama La Ragazza Con La Leica, one of four Italian films in the sidebar.

As previously announced, Danny Boyle's Ink, starring Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy, will open the festival and screen in competition.

The main competition jury will be chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal, joined by Kaouther Ben Hania and Daniel Blumberg, among others. Gyllenhaal will also present her short film Flesh Impact out of competition.

 

Full Lineup

Competition

Ink
Dir. Danny Boyle

Company
Dir. Casey Affleck

A Bit Of Light
Dir. Ali Asgari

Ritorno A Buenos Aires
Dir. Marco Bechis

Un Bon Petit Soldat
Dir. Stephane Brize

Il Fuoco Che Ti Porti Dentro
Dir. Edoardo De Angelis

Woman Unknown
Dir. May el-Toukhy

Bucking Fastard
Dir. Werner Herzog

15/18 (A Place To Heal)
Dir. Cedric Kahn

Dau
Dir. Ilya Khrzhanovsky

Look Back
Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda

Possible Love
Dir. Lee Chang-dong

Wild Horse Nine
Dir. Martin McDonagh

Succedera Questa Notte
Dir. Nanni Moretti

Primetime
Dir. Lance Oppenheim

The Echo Chamber
Dir. Andrea Pallaoro

Un Peu Avant Minuit
Dir. Nicolas Pariser

L’Estranea
Dir. Paolo Strippoli

Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?
Dir. Shinya Tsukamoto

Bunker
Dir. Florian Zeller

Venice Open - fiction

Dio Ride
Dir. Giovanni Veronesi

Nessun Dolore
Dir. Gianni Amelio

Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors
Dir. Lav Diaz

Father Joe
Dir. Barthelemy Grossmann

Scherzetto
Dir. Mario Martone

Place To Be
Dir. Kornel Mundruczo

No Paradise If You Are Killed By A Woman
Dir. Halkawt Mustafa

Arrested Memory
Dir. Sabu

The Basics Of Philosophy
Dir. Paul Schrader

Un Bon Avocat
Dir. Tristan Seguela

Jupiter
Dir. Alexandre Smia

Venice Open - non-fiction

Be Brave
Dir. Francesco Carrozzini

What Love Builds
Dir. Russell Crowe

Burgundy
Dir. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw

Musk
Dir. Alex Gibney

The Road To Jericho
Dir. Amos Gitai 

Citizen Osama
Dir. Ahmed Hassouna

Union Town
Dir. Barbara Kopple

Holy Wood Dust
Dir. Victor Kossakovsky 

Letters From The Silenced Country
Dir. Andrei Kutsila

Biografia De Jorge Luis Borges
Dir. Mariano Llinas

My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile
Dir. Julia Loktev

Boatbuilders
Dir. Luke Lorentzen

Imperium
Dir. Sergei Loznitsa

Shumei - The Living Legacy Of Kabuki
Dir. Takashi Miike

Queer Edward II
Dir. Theo Rollason

Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger
Dir. Dylan Southern, Will Lovelace

Dust
Dir. Tsai Ming-Liang

Everest: The Other Side
Dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

From Inside Out - The Architecture Of Peter Zumthor
Dir. Wim Wenders

Venice Open - film on films 

Juso Per Ferie
Dir. Karen Di Porto

Nino - Un Film Su Nino Rota
Dir. Walter Fasano

The Pervert’s Guide To Utopias
Dir. Sophie Fiennes

Joie De Vivre
Dir. Luca Guadagnino

Twist And Shoot Mister Suzuki
Dir. Yves Montmayeur

Intermission
Dir. Yonfan

Venice Open - shorts

Flesh Impact
Dir. Maggie Gylenhaal  

Wild Asparagus
Dir. Avi Mograbi

They’re Here
Dir. Laura Poitras, Rachel Mueller

Venice Open - series

Peccato
Dir. Valerio Vestoso

Venice Open - special screening

Dai Nostra inviati. La Rai Racconta La Mostra Del Cinema Di Venezia 2001-2012
Dir. Guiseppe Giannotti, Enrico Salvatori, Nicoletta Berardi

Horizons

La Ragazza Con Le Leica
Dir. Alina Marazzi

The Burning Giants
Dir. Phuttiphong Aroonpheng

What Belongs To Others
Dir. Grzegorz Debowski

Una Storia
Dir. Anna Foglietta

La Citta Dei Vivi
Dir. Edoardo Gabbriellini

Falling House
Dir. Mohsen Gharaei 

Too Much Sugar
Dir. Robert Greene

The Difficult Bride
Dir. Rubaiyat Hossain

La Maison Du Vent
Dir. Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu

I Figli Della Scimmia
Dir. Tommaso Landucci

A Day In The Life Of Jo: Chapter Phaedra
Dir. Jacqueline Lentzou

Oasis
Dir. Jannis Lenz

Until The Day Ends
Dir. Jelena Maksimovic

La Moula
Dir. Jerome Pierrat

Lovers In The Blue Night
Dir. Anuparna Roy

Un Detour Par Diane
Dir. Ann Sirot, Raphael Balboni

The Colour Of The Sun
Dir. Xavier Tera

Eklipse
Dir. Manuel Wetscher

Big Little Things
Dir. Michelle Zhou

Spotlight

Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing
Dir. Erik Shirai

Conversation With The Sea
Dir. Muayad Alayan

Hombre Al Agua
Dir. Gael Garcia Bernal

Serpenti
Dir. Roberto De Paolis Maino

Furies
Dir. Rami Kodeih

Guria
Dir. Levan Koguashvili

Ground Floor
Dir. Gabor Reisz

I Matter
Dir. Alina Serban