Venice Film Festival Opens With Boyle, Clooney and Gaza in Spotlight

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival opens September 2 with Danny Boyle’s Ink, as Hollywood awards contenders, political controversy and a growing Middle Eastern presence converge on the Lido.

The Venice International Film Festival opens on Wednesday, September 2, bringing together major Hollywood names, leading international filmmakers and an increasingly politically charged programme as the world’s oldest film festival begins its 83rd edition.

Running through September 12, Venice will open with the world premiere of Danny Boyle’s Ink, starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy. The film chronicles Rupert Murdoch’s 1969 acquisition of The Sun and its transformation under editor Larry Lamb into Britain’s dominant mass-market tabloid. STUDIOCANAL fully financed the production and will distribute it theatrically across several major territories.

Opening night will also see George Clooney receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, with Laura Dern presenting the tribute. Actress Ellen Burstyn will receive a separate lifetime-achievement Golden Lion later in the festival.

The competition brings together 21 films, including new works from Werner Herzog, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Martin McDonagh, Florian Zeller and May el-Toukhy. Maggie Gyllenhaal chairs the main jury, which includes Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, whose The Voice of Hind Rajab won Venice’s Grand Jury Prize in 2025.

But Gaza is set to become one of the defining issues surrounding this year’s festival.

Venice made a late addition to the Golden Lion competition with NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, members of the team behind Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. The documentary examines the systems behind Israeli military strikes and the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and will premiere on September 10. Israel says its military operations target Hamas and disputes allegations that civilians are systematically targeted.

Palestinian-French documentary Citizen Osama, directed by Ahmed Hassouna, will also screen out of competition, following a journalist attempting to document the war in northern Gaza while protecting his wife and newborn child.

Beyond politics and star power, Venice remains an important launching ground for the international awards and distribution season. Critical reception on the Lido can influence acquisitions, theatrical strategies and Oscar campaigns over the months ahead.

Yet in 2026, the festival’s economic relevance increasingly extends beyond finished films.

Behind the red carpet, Venice is developing into an international marketplace where financiers, producers, streamers, publishers and film funds compete for the projects that could shape the next generation of global cinema.

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