Venice 2025 preview: Screen’s guide to the Competition titles

At Work (Fr)

Dir. Valérie Donzelli
At Work (A Pied d’Oeuvre) marks Donzelli’s seventh feature as director and first time in Venice’s Competition, though she starred in Cédric Kahn’s 2023 festival title Making Of. Donzelli (Declaration Of War, Just The Two Of Us) wrote the script with Gilles Marchand, based on Franck Courtès’ novel, about a successful photographer who abandons everything to dedicate himself to writing, but pays a financial price for such freedom. It stars ubiquitous French actor Bastien Bouillon alongside Virginie Ledoyen and Marie Rivière. Alain Goldman (La Vie En Rose) produces via Pitchipoi.
Contact: Grégoire Melin, Kinology

Below The Clouds (It)

Dir. Gianfranco Rosi
Italian documentarian Rosi won Venice’s Golden Lion for Sacro GRA in 2013 and a Golden Bear in Berlin three years later for Fire At Sea, which was Oscar-nominated. Following Notturno, which shot in the borderlands of the Middle East, and his Pope Francis travelogue In Viaggio, Rosi returns to Italy with this black-and-white documentary shot over two years, exploring how past and present are tangled up in the lives of those who live near Mount Vesuvius. Rosi’s 21Uno company co-produces with Stemal Entertainment and Rai Cinema; 01 Distribution has set a September 18 release in Italy, where the film is titled Sotto Le Nuvole.
Contact: The Match Factory

Bravo Bene! (It)

Dir. Franco Maresco
Maresco’s solo career has veered towards quirky, meta-fictional hybrid documentaries, having once been known chiefly for the surreal Sicilian black comedies he co-directed with Daniele Cipri. He returns to Venice’s Competition with a feature about his attempt to make a film about Italian avant-garde actor and director Carmelo Bene, after The Mafia Is Not What It Used To Be was awarded a special jury prize at the festival in 2019. Lucky Red, which co-produces with Dugong Films and Eolo, will release in Italy on September 4 (titled Un Film Fatto Per Bene) immediately after its Venice debut.
Contact: Francesca Tiberi, True Colours 

Bugonia (UK)

Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
The Greek filmmaker’s last foray at Venice was 2023 Golden Lion winner Poor Things, which went on to scoop a slew of Oscars and Baftas. Lanthimos returns with a remake of South Korean sci-fi comedy Save The Green Planet! (2003), adapted by Will Tracy (The Menu). Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis star as conspiracy fanatics who kidnap a CEO (Emma Stone), convinced she is an alien. Producers are Element Pictures’ Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, Lanthimos, Stone, Square Peg’s Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen, and CJ ENM’s Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko.
Contact: Universal Pictures/Focus Features 

Duse (It-Fr)

Dir. Pietro Marcello
This long-awaited biopic of celebrated Italian actress Eleonora Duse finally emerges in Competition at Venice (where the director’s breakout Martin Eden played in 2019) after being talked up for last year’s Venice and this year’s Cannes. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi plays the ageing diva — the first woman ever to appear on the cover of Time magazine, in 1923 — as she comes out of retirement and returns to the Italian stage in the dark years that saw the rise of Mussolini; Noémie Merlant (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire) plays her daughter. French co-producer Ad Vitam will hope Duse repeats the success of the last Italian project it partnered on, Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera (2023).
Contact: The Match Factory

Elisa (It-Switz)

Dir. Leonardo Di Costanzo
Neapolitan director Di Costanzo nuzzles into a major festival competition slot for the first time with his fourth fiction film, which like 2021’s The Inner Cage is set in an Italian prison. Di Costanzo lives between Paris and Naples, and all three of his previous features have been distributed in France as well as Italy — so there is commercial logic behind the casting of veteran French actor Roschdy Zem as a criminologist intrigued by the case of a woman doing time for the murder of her sister. Valeria Golino also stars. Regular Di Costanzo producer Carlo Cresto-Dina of Tempesta teams here with his go-to Swiss partner at Amka Films.
Contact: Fulvio Firrito, Rai Cinema International Distribution

Father Mother Sister Brother (US-Ire-Fr)

Dir. Jim Jarmusch
Jarmusch has long been loyal to Cannes, playing there in Competition eight times over four decades, beginning in 1986 with Down By Law. He makes his Venice bow with a self-penned comedy drama involving the familial relationships between distant parents and their children. Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver lead the cast, with support from Vicky Krieps, Tom Waits, Mayim Bialik and Charlotte Rampling. Charles Gillibert, Joshua Astrachan, Carter Logan and Atilla Salih Yucer produce, with Mubi, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello and Fremantle among the backers.
Contact: The Match Factory

Frankenstein (US)

Dir. Guillermo del Toro
Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac star in del Toro’s self-written adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel about an ambitious scientist thwarted by his monstrous creation, with Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz also among the cast. Del Toro’s sole previous Venice Competition entry The Shape Of Water scooped the Golden Lion in 2017, going on to a rich awards trajectory including the Oscar for best picture. Del Toro produces for his Double Dare You alongside Scott Stuber and previous collaborator J Miles Dale, and Netflix releases globally in November.
Contact: Netflix

Girl (Tai)

Dir. Shu Qi
Set in Taiwan 1988, this family drama follows a girl whose aspirations are challenged by her mother’s past but finds solace in a girl who embodies her suppressed dreams. It marks the directing debut of actress Shu Qi, known for Cannes 2015 award winner The Assassin and Cannes 2025 competitor Resurrection. Also written by Shu Qi, Girl stars Roy Chiu, singer/actress 9m88 and Bai Xiao-ying. Executive producer is veteran Yeh Jufeng while Yu Jing-pin of Oscar-nominated Better Days is cinematographer. CMC Entertainment, Wow Momentum, JQ Pictures and Aranya Pictures are among the film’s backers.
Contact: Desmond Yang, Mandarin Vision (Asia); Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas (rest of world)

A House Of Dynamite (US)

Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
Bigelow returns to Venice’s Competition 17 years after The Hurt Locker started its journey to six Oscars including best picture and director. Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson star in a political drama that sees White House staffers grapple with an unattributed missile attack on the US. One of three Netflix titles in this year’s Competition, it is produced by Bigelow, regular producer partner Greg Shapiro and the film’s screenwriter Noah Oppenheim (Jackie).
Contact: Netflix

Jay Kelly (UK-US-It)

Dir. Noah Baumbach
Baumbach marks his third Venice Competition entry after 2019’s Marriage Story and 2022 opener White Noise; his doc De Palma, co-­directed with Jake Paltrow, also played the festival in 2015. The filmmaker’s fourth collaboration with Netflix, comedy drama Jay Kelly follows an actor (George Clooney) and his manager (Adam Sandler) as they embark on a journey across Europe. Other cast include Laura Dern, Riley Keough, Jim Broadbent, Lenny Henry, Greta Gerwig and Emily Mortimer — who co-writes with Baumbach. David Heyman and Amy Pascal produce alongside the filmmaker.
Contact: Netflix

La Grazia (It)

Dir. Paolo Sorrentino
Sorrentino — last in Venice four years ago with The Hand Of God — returns with this festival opener, having launched 2024’s Parthenope in Cannes. La Grazia marks Sorrentino’s seventh collaboration with Toni Servillo, who stars as a fictional Italian president in his final months of tenure, alongside Anna Ferzetti as his daughter urging him to sign off on a piece of controversial legislation. Mubi has worldwide rights outside Italy, distributing in key territories, with subsidiary The Match Factory selling elsewhere.
Contact: The Match Factory

No Other Choice (S Kor)

Dir. Park Chan-wook
Korean filmmaker Park is back in Competition, 20 years after Sympathy For Lady Vengeance won three prizes on the Lido. The first Korean film to play in Competition since 2012, No Other Choice is a dark thriller about a man who is determined to land a new job after being fired, and deals with those who stand in his way. The film is based on Donald E Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax, and stars Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game. Park co-created 2024 HBO mini­series The Sympathizer, but this marks his first feature since Cannes 2022 award-winner Decision To Leave. Neon has rights for North America while Mubi has taken multiple territories.
Contact: CJ ENM

Orphan (Hun-UK-Ger-Fr)

Dir. Laszlo Nemes
Nemes’ Hungarian family drama, set in 1957 after the Budapest uprising, is about a young boy whose world is turned upside down when a brutish man appears, claiming to be his real father. This is the second Venice Competition entry for Nemes following 2018’s Sunset; his feature debut Son Of Saul played Cannes in 2015. Ildiko Kemeny and Ferenc Szale produce for Hungary’s Pioneer Pictures alongside Mike Goodridge for the UK’s Good Chaos, plus Alexander Rodnyansky at AR Content and Gregory Jankilevitsch at Mid March Media.
Contact: Charades

Silent Friend (Ger-Fr-Hun)

Dir. Ildiko Enyedi
Hungarian director Enyedi’s latest is set in the botanical garden of a medieval university town in Germany and revolves around a majestic tree that observes people. The film takes place over three different eras — 1908, 1972 and 2020 — and stars acclaimed Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai as well as Luna Wedler and Enzo Brumm. Enyedi’s On Body And Soul picked up the Berlinale’s Golden Bear in 2017 and an Oscar nomination the following year for best foreign-language film, while The Story Of My Wife played in Cannes Competition in 2021.
Contact: Films Boutique

The Smashing Machine (US)

Dir. Benny Safdie
Benny and Josh Safdie played Venice sidebars with features Heaven Knows What (2014) and documentary Lenny Cooke (2013), going on to Cannes and Telluride launches with Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019) respectively. Benny’s first solo feature — and his first Venice Competition entry — stars Dwayne Johnson as real-life UFC champion Mark Kerr and Emily Blunt as wife Dawn Staples. A24 completed a raft of territory deals in the Cannes market earlier this year, and distributes in North America in October. The producers alongside Safdie include Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia for Seven Bucks Productions, David Koplan and Eli Bush.
Contact: A24 

The Stranger (Fr)

Dir. Francois Ozon
Last in Venice Competition in 2016 with Frantz, the indefatigable Ozon returns with an adaptation of Albert Camus’ novel of the same name, the bible of literary existentialism. Previously filmed in 1967 by Luchino Visconti with Marcello Mastroianni in the lead, Ozon’s version features Benjamin Voisin (Ozon’s Summer Of 85) as Meursault, a man on trial for murder in colonial-era Algeria. Rebecca Marder (The Crime Is Mine, also from Ozon) co-stars together with Pierre Lottin (When Fall Is Coming), Swann Arlaud and Denis Lavant. Ozon’s own company FOZ produces.
Contact: Gaumont

The Sun Rises On Us All (China)

Dir. Cai Shangjun
After winning the Silver Lion for best director with 2011’s People Mountain People Sea, Cai returns to the Lido with a moral tale of sacrifice and redemption set in Guangdong province. A man takes the blame for a crime committed by his lover, who then betrays him to start a new life. The cast is led by Xin Zhilei, Zhang Songwen and Feng Shaofeng. Backers include Guangzhou Mint Pictures, JingYu Film & Television Culture & Media and Ningbo Mint Pictures. Screenwriter-turned-­director Cai previously helmed 2007’s The Red Awn and 2017’s The Conformist.
Contact: mk2 Films 

The Testament Of Ann Lee (UK)

Dir. Mona Fastvold
Fastvold was at Venice last year as co-writer of Silver Lion winner The Brutalist, directed and co-written by her husband Brady Corbet, and winner of three Oscars and four Baftas. The tables have turned and Corbet co-writes Fastvold’s feature about the titular religious leader who founded the Shaker movement in the US in the late 1770s. Amanda Seyfried leads the cast, with Christopher Abbott and Thomasin McKenzie also starring. The film heads to Toronto’s Special Presentations after the Venice bow. Producers are Kaplan Morrison, Intake Films, Proton Cinema and Mid March Media.
Contact: Charades (international); CAA Media Finance (US)

The Voice Of Hind Rajab (Tun-Fr)

Dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
Tunisia’s Ben Hania launched The Man Who Sold His Skin in Venice Horizons in 2020, going on to earn an international feature Oscar nomination. She then launched Four Daughters in Cannes Competition, earning her second Oscar nod — for documentary. Her latest dramatises the true story of a six-year-old Palestinian girl’s call to Red Crescent volunteers while trapped in a car under fire from Israeli forces. Production is headed by Tunisia’s MIME Films and France’s Tanit Films, with producer roster comprising Nadim Cheikhrouha (Four Daughters), Odessa Rae (Navalny) and The Zone Of Interest’s Jim Wilson.
Contact: The Party Film Sales 

The Wizard Of The Kremlin (Fr)

Dir. Olivier Assayas
Assayas returns to Venice, where he was a prize-winner in 2021 for Something In The Air. His new feature — another politically inspired international drama, following 2019 Venice Competition title Wasp Network — is based on Giuliano da Empoli’s fact-based bestseller of the same name in which a young member of Russia’s artistic bohemia rises to be the Kremlin’s chief media manipulator. Paul Dano stars, alongside Jude Law as Russian president Vladimir Putin, together with Alicia Vikander and Jeffrey Wright. Assayas co-scripts with author and filmmaker Emmanuel Carrère, with Olivier Delbosc producing for Curiosa Films.
Contact: Gaumont international@gaumont.com

Profiles by Ben Dalton, Tim Dams, Charles Gant, Nadiya Jackson, Jeremy Kay, Rebecca Leffler, Lee Marshall, Tara Nimmoneser, Orlando Parfitt, Jonathan Romney, Michael Rosser, Matt Schley, Mona Tabbara, Silvia Wong.

• The lowdown on all the Venice Film Festival 2025 titles