As the 83rd Venice International Film Festival reaches its ninth day on September 10, 2026, the Lido balances high-profile red carpets, intense competition titles like Paolo Strippoli’s L’estranea, and political controversies unfolding across Italian television and cultural programming.
Venice Film Festival Highlights and Competition Frontrunners
The 83rd edition of the Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia features twenty-one films in competition, drawing immense crowds and critical attention to the Lido. Among the standout entries is Naza, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, which recently earned a standing ovation lasting 24.5 minutes. Other notable competition entries include Nicolas Pariser’s Un Peu Avant Minuit, starring Chiara Mastroianni.
The festival’s non-competition lineup brings its own share of star power and provocative storytelling. Mario Martone presents the fiction project Scherzetto, starring Toni Servillo and Serena Rossi, with Rossi also slated to receive the Campari Passion for Film Award. Meanwhile, Francesco Carrozzini’s non-fiction project Non Fiction Be Brave features appearances from Jovanotti, John Galliano, and Anna Wintour.
Horror, Family Secrets, and Manga Adaptations on the Lido
Italian cinema makes a strong showing in the race for the Golden Lion. Thirty-three-year-old director Paolo Strippoli brings L’estranea, starring Jasmine Trinca, Adriano Giannini, and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. The film blends dark fairy-tale elements with horror, following a mother who unearths a long-held family secret tied to a past pact with a stranger.
At the same time, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore’eda adapts the original manga Look Back. The film traces the thirteen-year bond between two young artists, Fujino and Kyomoto, capturing their parallel creative journeys across the four seasons of the Tōhoku region.
Ellen Burstyn Receives the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
Actress Ellen Burstyn accepts the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at this year’s festival, becoming the second career honor awarded during the event. Maggie Gyllenhaal, who serves as this year’s international competition jury president, delivers the laudatio for Burstyn. Gyllenhaal also cast Burstyn in Flesh Impact, a short film dedicated to Marilyn Monroe that features Dakota Johnson as the iconic star at the peak of her fame alongside Burstyn in a version of Marilyn that the world has never known.
Burstyn’s career of almost 60 years spans defining performances in cinematic masterworks, most notably her Oscar-winning turn in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, solidifying her enduring influence across multiple generations of filmmakers.
Political Debate and Current Affairs on Television
Away from the cinematic celebrations in Venice, domestic political and social tensions dominate Italian television schedules. Paolo Del Debbio hosts Rete 4’s Dritto e rovescio, featuring an interview with Senate President Ignazio La Russa. Discussions center on both national and international developments, including the recent electoral victory of the far-right AfD party in Germany and safety concerns following high-profile incidents in Rome and Turin. Political figures slated for debate include Galeazzo Bignami (FdI), Paolo Romano (PD), Antonio Maria Rinaldi (FN), Alessandro Morelli (Lega), Luca Boccoli (Avs), and Marco Furfaro (PD).
What to Watch Next
As the 83rd Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica heads toward its closing ceremonies, audiences and critics await the final jury decisions on the Golden Lion. Viewers at home can continue tracking live festival coverage through specialized cinema broadcasts alongside nightly political analysis programs airing across national networks.
