Overview

• The 82nd edition runs Aug. 27–Sept. 6 with 21 films vying for the Golden Lion, to be decided by a jury led by Alexander Payne.
• Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia premieres on opening night, as Werner Herzog receives a Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion and unveils Ghost Elephants out of competition.
• Netflix returns to Venice competition with Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite and Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly after sitting out last year.
• Star turns on the red carpet include Julia Roberts for Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, George Clooney for Jay Kelly, Emma Stone for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia and Dwayne Johnson for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine.
• Festival organizers are navigating planned Gaza-related demonstrations and public appeals from Venice4Palestine as politically charged entries such as Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab screen in competition.