The 83rd Venice Film Festival will open on September 2, 2026, with Ink, a Danny Boyle-directed biopic about media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Artistic director Alberto Barbera unveiled the full lineup on July 23, featuring a mix of high-profile competition titles, expansive documentaries, and lifetime achievement honors for George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn.
Venice is leaning heavily into the power dynamics of the media age this year.
Ink and the Rise of the Modern Tabloid
Opening the festival at the Sala Grande in the Palazzo del Cinema, Ink
is an adaptation of James Graham’s Tony-winning play. The film dramatizes the 1969 acquisition of The Sun by Rupert Murdoch and the subsequent efforts to turn the publication into Britain’s most influential tabloid.
The production features Guy Pearce as Murdoch and Jack O’Connell as editor Larry Lamb, with Claire Foy appearing as Jules Davies. Director Danny Boyle views the story as a precursor to the current digital era.
Boyle added that the newspaper challenged the establishment and remade our world for the modern era.
For the writer, the project was born from an early desire to capture the roots of contemporary populism, a goal Graham mentioned to the press as early as 2017.
Competition Titles and Director Returns
The main competition, vying for the Golden Lion under a jury led by Maggie Gyllenhaal, includes a diverse array of international cinema.
The competition slate also marks a significant shift in gender representation.
Marathon Documentaries and Out-of-Competition Screens
The “Out of Competition” category is defined by extreme durations and high-profile subjects. Alex Gibney’s Musk
provides a four-hour portrait of Elon Musk, while Julia Loktev’s My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile
follows Russian journalists in a film running 355 minutes.
Luca Guadagnino returns with Joie De Vivre
, a seven-hour documentary on Bernardo Bertolucci. Other documentary highlights include Steven Knight’s Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger
, which is expected to be attended by Noel and Liam Gallagher, and Russell Crowe’s autobiographical musical What Love Builds
.
In the narrative space, Paul Schrader will screen The Basics Of Philosophy
, starring Jack Huston and Sofia Boutella.
Lifetime Honors and the Pre-Opening Tease
The festival is utilizing its platform to honor cinema veterans. George Clooney, a Venice regular, will receive a lifetime achievement award. Similarly, the 93-year-old Ellen Burstyn will be honored with a lifetime achievement award, appearing alongside Dakota Johnson in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Marilyn Monroe-inspired short, Flesh Impact
.
Before the official start on September 2, the festival will host a “pre-opening” screening on September 1. The Hollywood Reporter reports that the Lido will screen a restored 4K version of Tinto Brass’s 1967 softcore thriller Deadly Sweet
as part of the Venice Classics program.
The Road to the Awards Season
For the studios and actors involved, the 83rd edition serves as the first major gate for the fall awards season.
Despite that, the festival typically yields at least one Best Picture nominee. This year’s strategy appears to pivot slightly away from the heavy Hollywood studio presence seen in previous years, favoring a more eclectic mix of international auteurs and targeted biopics. The festival will conclude its run on September 12 with the closing title Dio ride
, directed by Giovanni Veronesi.
Sources: apnews.com.
