The Venice International Film Festival has us used to major premieres, get-togethers of influential figures in the film industry, and show-stopping looks, but this year’s schedule is insane: Yorgos Lanthimos, Guillermo del Toro, Park Chan-wook, Olivier Assayas, Sofia Coppola, Jim Jarmush, Werner Herzog, Gus van Sant, Paolo Sorrentino, Lucrecia Martel or Luca Guadagnino, to name a few, are all getting together in Italy from August 27 to September 6.
This year’s festival will open with local talent: Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino is presenting La Grazia, described on IMDB as just “a love story set in Italy.” Another heavyweight is Werner Herzog, who’s presenting an eerie documentary titled Ghost Elephants, set in Angola. Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen gets even darker in The Last Viking, starring Mads Mikkelsen, where a bank robber released from jail must unlock his traumatised brother's memory to recover stolen loot. Artist Julian Schnabel will be presenting In the Hand of Dante while also receiving the Cartier Glory to the Film Award on September 3rd. And there are many, many more films to acknowledge (but we don’t want to bore you, to be honest).
As we said, this year’s programme is packed with incredible movies, so it’s been very hard to do this. However, here’s a selection of ten films we think are going to be among the best and most celebrated. Grab your popcorn and enjoy!
Frankenstein
Ok, hear me out: there are many, many movies about Mary Shelley’s trailblazing book, one of the most celebrated pieces of British literature. But Guillermo del Toro’s new take on the Victorian sci-fi story will most probably be one of the best so far. Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Charles Dance, this new Netflix adaptation about Victor Frankenstein’s experiment gone wrong will captivate mainstream audiences and horror fans alike.
Bugonia
Yorgos Lanthimos has been super prolific these past years, and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down any time soon. Teaming up with Emma Stone once again, the Greek director will premiere Bugonia, where two conspiracy-obsessed men kidnap a high-profile CEO who they believe is an alien trying to destroy planet Earth.
No Other Choice
The master of plot twists and mind fucks is back! Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Thirst) is heavily recognised for being one of the most unique filmmakers out there, with a twisted mind that's hard to comprehend. In his new movie, he presents the story of an unemployed man who devises a plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.
The Smashing Machine
Benny Safdie (yes, from the Safdie Brothers) is going solo for the first time. And he's decided to do so by telling the story of Mark Kerr (played by Dwayne Johnson), a famous wrestler and mixed martial artist who won the UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion in two occasions and the World Vale Tudo Championship tournament.
Marc by Sofia
Fashion enthusiasts, rejoice! Because Sofia Coppola is stepping out of fiction and getting into documentaries with this new piece about New York designer Marc Jacobs. The beloved figure, who transformed Louis Vuitton during his ten-year tenure at the Maison, and who’s now making waves with his own brand thanks to his theatrical, over-the-top, and whimsical approach, is the main figure of this intimate audiovisual piece.
Father Mother Sister Brother
Only Jim Jarmusch could pull something like this: Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, Indiya Moore, and Luka Sabbat together on the same movie. The indie director, known for works like Dead Man, Broken Flowers, and Only Lovers Left Alive, is now presenting this family drama where estranged siblings reunite after years apart and are forced to confront unresolved trauma, tensions, and reevaluate their relationships.

Photo © Yorick Le Saux
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Jania (with two Oscar nominations and known for movies like Four Daughters or The Man Who Sold His Skin) makes a political statement against Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in her new movie. Based on a true story, Red Crecent volunteers receive the emergency call of a six-year-old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, and they do everything in their hands to get an ambulance to her. Probably, one of the most necessary movies in this year’s edition.

Dead Man’s Wire
Another film based on a true story, and it’s a tough one: on February 8, 1977, Tony Kiritsis entered the office of Richard Hall, president of the Meridian Mortgage Company, and took him hostage with a sawed-off shotgun wired with a ‘dead man's wire’ from the trigger to Tony's own neck. Now, Gus van Sant brings this complex situation to the silver screen with a stellar cast including Al Pacino, Bill Skarsgård, and Colman Domingo.

Photo © Stefania Rosini SMPSP
A House of Dynamite
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Detroit, The Hurt Locker), and starring Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, and Greta Lee, this movie involves war. This time, the story unfolds in the White House and focuses on its staffers, who grapple with an impending missile strike on the United States.
Nuestra Tierra
In this new documentary, Lucrecia Martel (Zama) delves into one of Argentina's darkest chapters: in 2009, three armed men tried to evict members of the Indigenous community of Chuschagasta and ended up killing the community's leader, Javier Chocobar. The murder was caught on video, but it took nine years of protests (!!!) before the country’s justice system took notice and did something about it. A heart-wrenching story of colonialism, dispossession, and injustice.