82nd Venice International Film Festival Lineup - In Progress

Today, July 22. A very long press conference with a cascade of films in the Biennale Cinema selection, as a matter of fact it was after an hour and 15 minutes that the competition was finally announced. The selection has not many "surprises" as most films were expected, especially in the main competition.

The best news are the inclusion of Mother by Teona Strugar Mitevska with Noomi Rapace playing Mother Teresa, not in #Venezia82 competition but in #Orizzonti2025 competition. Oh! Ozon's L'Etranger is in Competition!!! that's the most pleasant surprise as just a few days back discovered the film and even posted about it. Great! 

Kim Novack and Werner Herzog are being honored with a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, a decision made by the Board of Directors of La Biennale upon recommendation of the Artistic Director of the Festival, Alberto Barbera.

The actress and author Emanuela Fanelli will host the opening and closing nights of the Biennale Cinema.

On August 26th two Pre-Opening films, 1929 Queen Kelly by Erich von Stroheim with music performed by the Syntax Ensemble, film will be shown as world premiere in a new version restored incorporating newly discovered materiasls; and Origin, the Venetian Lagoon by Yann Arthus Bertrand, the famous French photographer, director and environmentalists.

The Poster

Also today La Mostra's poster was unveiled and is created by Manuele Flor with a vision that speaks about an imaginary and fantastic Venice where cinema soars above the rooftops and chimneys of the luminous lagoon city in one direction: #Venezia82.

The Official Selection

Today were announced twenty-one (21) films in competition which is the maximum number of films for this competition. But below, already listed as in competition, is one film still in post-production which Barbera mentioned hoping will be finalized before the opening of the festival; so, perhaps there could be more changes than expected or they could leave 20 films in competition.

Several of the films in competition are by well-known directors; as a matter of fact there is only one director I do not know as it's her first film, but she's very-well known as an actress, yes talking about Shu qi that we all remember especially in Millennium Mambo by Hou Hsiao Hsien.

As is becoming tradition La Mostra red carpet will be walked by a lot of American big stars like, believe it or not, Dwayne Johnson (!) along with Emily Blunt, Oscar Issac (has 2 films), George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, Jacob Elordi, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Bad Bunny, and more. Some interesting non-American actors like Tony Leung, Léa Seydoux, Tony Servillo, Pierfrancesco Favino, Noomi Rapace, Mads Mikkelsen, Valeria Golino, Virginie Ledoyen, Benjamin Voisin and more.

In the 2025 edition there is a new festival section called Venezia Spotlight and as far as I can tell one section has been discontinued, Orizzonti Extra. Still will wait until I go into deep analysis of Orizzonti section to confirm Orizzonti Extra does no longer exists.

#Venezia82 Competition
An International competition comprising a maximum of 21 feature-length films presented as world premieres.

Opening Film: La Grazia (Grace) by Paolo Sorrentino, Italy
A House of Dynamite, Kathryn Bigelow, USA
À pied d'œuvre, Valérie Donzelli, France 
Árva (Orphan) by László Nemes, Hungary, France, Germany and UK
Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos, UK
Duse, Pietro Marcello, Italy
Elisa, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy and Switzerland
어쩔수가없다 Eojjeolsugaeopda (No Other Choice), Chan-wook Park, South Korea
Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Jim Jarmusch, USA, France and Ireland
Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro, USA
Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach, USA
L’Étranger (The Stranger), François Ozon, France
女孩 Nǚ Hái (Girl), Shu qi, Taiwan
日掛中天 Ri Gua Zhong Tian (Sun Rises on Us All), Cai Shangjun, China
Silent Friend, Ildikó Enyedi, Germany, France and Hungary
Sotto le nuvole (Below The Clouds), Gianfranco Rosi, Italy (documentary)
The Smashing Machine, Benny Safdie, Canada, USA and Japan
The Testament of Ann Lee, Mona Fastvold, UK
The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben Hania, Tunisia and France
The Wizard of the Kremlin, Olivier Assayas, USA, UK and France
Un Film Fatto Per Bene, Franco Maresco, Italy (documentary)

Competition Jury
President: Alexander Payne, director, screenwriter and producer, USA
Stéphane Brizé, director and screenwriter, France
Maura Delpero, director and screenwriter, Italy
Christian Mungiu, director, writer and producer, Romania
Mohammad Rasoulof, director, writer and producer, Iran
Fernanda Torres, actress, writer and screenwriter, Brazil
Zhao Tao, actress, China

Check available info and/or trailer for Venezia82 Competition at MOC
Check available posters for Venezia 82 Competition at pinterest

Out of Competition
Some of the most important works of the year will be presented in the non-competing section, for a maximum of 20 films; to these will be added the films produced within the Biennale College-Cinema program. They may include the works of established authors who have participated in previous editions of the Venice International Film Festival, or films in which the spectacular dimension is accompanied by forms of expressive and/or narrative originality, and non-narrative films.

Fiction
After The Hunt, Luca Guadagnino, USA
Boşluğa xütbə (Sermond to the Void), Hilal Baydarov, Azerbaijan, Mexico and Turkey
Chien 51 (Dog 51), Cédric Jimenez, France
Dead Man's Wire, Gus Van Sant, USA
Den Sidste Viking (The Last Viking), Anders Thomas Jensen, Denmark and Sweden
Hateshinaki Scarlet (Scarlet), Mamoro Hosoda, Japan (Anime)
In The Hand of Dante, Julian Schnabel, USA
Il Maestro, Andrea di Stefano, Italy
La Valle dei Sorrisi, Paolo Strippoli, Italy and Slovenia
L'Isola di Andrea, Antonio Capuano, Italy 
Orfeo, Virgilio Villoresi, Italy (animation)

Non Fiction
بابا و القذافي Baba wa al-qadhafi (My Father and Qaddafi), Jihan K, USA and Libya (documentary)
Broken English, Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth, UK (documentary)
Cover-Up, Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, USA (documentary)
Записная книжка режиссера Director's Diary, Alexandr Sokurov, Russia and Italy
Ferdinando Scianna - Il Fotografo dell'Ombra, Roberto Ando, Italy (documentary)
Ghost Elephants, Werner Herzog, USA (documentary)
回家 Hui Jia (Back Home), Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan (documentary)
I diari di Angela - Noi due cineasti, capitolo terzo, Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi, Italy (documentary)
کابل، میان نمازها Kabul, Between Prayers, Aboozar Amini, Netherlands and Belgium (documentary)
Kim Novak's Vertigo, Alexandre Philippe, USA (documentary)
Marc by Sofia, Sofia Coppola, USA (documentary)
Nuestra Tierra, Lucerecia Martel, Argentina, USA, Mexico, France, Netherlands and Denmark (documentary)
Remake, Ross McElwee, USA (documentary)
Сиљан The Tale of Silyan, Tamara Kotevska, North Macedonia (documentary)
Zapiski Nastoyashego Prestupnika (Notes of a true criminal). Alexander Rodnyansky, USA (documentary)

Cinema and Music Special Competition
Francesco De Gregori Nevergreen, Stefano Pistolini, Italy (documentary)
Newport and the Great Folk Dream, Robert Gordon, USA (documentary)
Nino. 18 Giorni, Toni d'Angelo, Italy (documentary)
Piero Pelù. Rumore dentro, Francesco Fei, Italy

TV Series
Etty, Hagai Levi, France Germany, and Netherlands
Il Mostro, Stefano Sollima, Italy
Portobello, Marco Bellocchio, Italy and France
Un prophète - La série (A Prophet), Enrico Maria Artale, Framce

Short Films
Boomerang Atomic, Rachid Bouchareb, France 21'
How to Shoot a Ghost, Charlie Kaufman, USA and Greece 27'
Origin, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, France 30'

Orizzonti
An international competition reserved for a maximum of 19 films, dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema, with special attention to debut films, young or not yet firmly established talents, indie features and lesser-known cinema. The Orizzonti section features a selection of competing short films lasting a maximum of 20 minutes, selected on the basis of criteria such as quality and originality of language and expression, called Orizzonti Corti.

Feature Films

Competition
Opening Film: Mother, Teona Strugar Mitevska, Belgium, North Macedonia, Sweden, Bosnia Herzegovina and Denmark
Barrio Triste, Stillz, Colombia
En El Camino, David Pablos, Mexico and France
Estrany Riu (Strange River), Jaume Claret Muxart, Spain and Germany
Dinti de lapte (Milk Teeth), Mihai Mincan, Romania, France, Denmark, Greece and Bulgaria
Funeral Casino Blues, Roderick Warich, Germany
Grand Ciel, Akihiro Hata, France and Luxembourg
Hara Watan (Lost Land), Akio Fujimoto, Japan, France, Malaysia, and Germany
Hiedra, Ana Cristina Barragan, Ecuador, Mexico, France and Spain
Human Resource, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Thailand
Il Rapimento di Arabella (The Kidnapping or Arabella), Carolina Cavalli, Italy
کمدی الهی Komedie Elahi (Divine Comedy), Ali Asgari, Iran, Italy, France, Germany and Turkey
Late Fame, Kent Jones, USA
Otec (Father), Tereza Nvotová, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Poland
Pin de Fartie, Alejo Moguillansky, Argentina
Rose of Nevada, Mark Jenkin, UK
Songs of Forgotten Trees, Anuparna Roy, India
The Souffleur, Gaston Solnicki, Austria and Argentina
Un anno di scuola, Laura Samani, Italy and France

Orizzonti Corti 
Lineup with world premiere screenings of 14 short films in competition and 1 out of competition from 19 different countries,

Competiton 
Coyotes, Said Zagha, Palestine, France. Jordan and UK 20'
El Origen del Mundo (The Origin of the World), Jazmín López, Argentina 12'
Je crois entendre encore (I Hear It Still), Constance Bonnot, France 16'
Kushta Mayn, La Mia Constantinopoli (Kushta Mayn, My Constantinople), Nicolò Folin, Italy 19'
La ligne de vie (The Lifeline), Hugo Becker, France 20'
Lion Rock, Nick Mayow and Prisca Bouchet, New Zealand, 16'
Nedostupni (Unavailable), Kyrylo Zemlyanyi, Ukraine, France, Belgium, Bulgaria and Netherlands 20'
Merrimundi, Niles Atallah, Chile 21' (animation)
Norheimsund, Ana Alpizar, Cuba and USA 12'
螳螂 Praying Mantis, Joe Hsieh and Yonfan, Taipei and Hong Kong 18' (animation)
Saint Siméon, Olubunmi Ogunsola, Nigeria 18'
The Curfew, Shehrezad Maher, USA, 19'
Utan Kelly (Without Kelly), Lovisa Sirén, Sweden 15'
You jian chui yan (A Soil a Culture a River a People), Viv Li, Germany, Belgium and China 15'

Out of Competition
Rukeli, Alessandro Bak, Italy and Sweden, 5' (animation)

Orizzonti Jury
President: Julia Ducournau, director and screenwriter, France
Yuri Ancarani, director and video artist, Italy
Fernando Enrique Juan Lima, film critic, Argentina
Shannon Murphy, theatre, TV and film director, Australia
RaMell Ross, artist, filmmaker, writer, and liberated documentarian, USA

Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Debut Film Jury
President: Charlotte Wells, filmmaker, Scotland and New York
Erige Sehiri, director, producer and former journalist, France and Tunisia
Silvio Soldini, director and screenwriter, Italy

Tribute to the Wave in the Ocean School
A Wave in the Ocean, the film school conceived in 2022 and directed in Wellington (Aotearoa New Zealand) by director Jane Campion, will be honored with a tribute at La Mostra and will feature the screening of seven short films by seven of its young students. Furthermore, Lion Rock by Nick Mayow and Prisca Bouchet, which was also made with A Wave in the Ocean, it is in competition in the Orizzonti Short Films section. The following are the seven short films.

A Very Good Boy, Samuel Te Kani, New Zealand 17'
Girl Time, Eleanor Bishop, New Zealand 12'
In Conversation with Jack Maurer, Hash Perambalam, New Zealand 14'
Kurī, Ana Chaya Scotney, New Zealand 13'
Socks, Todd Karehana, New Zealand 12'
The Brightness, Freya Silas Finch 13'
The Girl Next Door, Mingjian Cui, New Zealand 14'

Venezia Spotlight
New Section. The section features a selection of up to 10 works of different genres, lengths and targets (provided their length is more than 60 minutes), with a particular attention to works that address specific genres and current production, with the aim of innovating and demonstrating creative originality in the relationship with the public they are meant for. Each film will be preceded and accompanied by public encounters and conversations with directors, actors and personalities from the world of art and culture. The audience will be invited to cast a vote each time, in order to assign the final Armani beauty Audience Award to the film that has obtained the highest level of appreciation from the viewers.

À bras-le-corps (Silent Rebellion), Marie-Elsa Sgualdo, Switzerland, France, and Belgium
Ammazzare Stanca, Daniele Vicari, Italy
Calle Málaga, Maryam Touzani, Morocco, France, Spain, Germany and Belgium
هجرة Hijra, Shahad Ameen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, and UK
La Hija de la Espanola (It Would Be Night In Caracas), Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás, Mexico and Venezuela
Made in EU, Stephan Komadarev, Bulgaria, Germany, and Czech Republic
Motor City, Potsy Ponciroli, USA
Un Cabo Suelto (A Loose End), Daniel Hendler, Uruguay, Argentina and Spain

Venice Classics
Presents the world premiere screenings of 18 film restorations of masterpieces completed over the past year from film libraries, cultural institution and productions around the world. Film include works by Pedro Almodóvar, Marcel Carné, Krzysztof Kieślowski and many more. The Documentaries about Cinema section films will be announced during the Official Selection press conference, meantime if you wish to learn about the restorations go official site here.

Venice Immersive
The Venice Immersive will present 69 projects from 27 countries with 30 projects in competition, 34 projects out of competition, and 5 projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema - Immersive. To learn about the competition jury and/or read about the projects go official site here.

Final Cut in Venice
8 Work-In-Progress films in the Industry program that has been providing support in the completion of films from all African countries and from xis countries in the Middle East. To read more about the program and learn about each project go to official site here.

Biennale College Cinema
An advanced training workshop for the development and production of micro-budget works, open to teams of directors and producers from around the world. The selection includes 4 final projects from Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Cambodia, USA and India that will move to the production phase to become feature-lenght films. To learn about the projects go to official site here.

The Press Conference
Video with the presentation of the Official selection with English translation overlaping -can hear Italian in the background. If you understand Italian there is a better sounding video here.