Word around the campfire is that the Julianne Moore-led jury at Venice has favorited three movies for potential Golden Lion recompense: Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer,” and Todd Field’s “TÁR.”
Jury president Julianne Moore was seen visibly moved after the “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” screening last Friday. She is also said to be a big fan of “Saint Omer.”
Speaking of Diop’s film, it screened today to positive reviews. It is part of the New York Film Festival’s prestigious main slate and is also set to screen this week at TIFF. Back in April, I reported that Cannes waited too long to make a decision on Diop’s film, which led to the filmmaker ultimately deciding to accept Venice’s invitation.
Another whispered-about contender, Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” is NOT in the running, according to a person I spoke to earlier today.
With all that being said, we still have Jafar Panahi’s “No Bears” left to be screened. The recently imprisoned Iranian filmmaker was already a coup-de-coeur for many to win the Golden Lion, despite his film having not been screened yet. “No Bears” will not garner bad reviews, that I can assure you. The entire film world has Panahi’s back at the moment.
It’s not just Panahi that’s left to be screened. Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde,” Vahid Jalilvand’s “Beyond the Wall,” Susanna Nicchiarelli‘s “Chiara,” and Roschdy Zem‘s “Our Ties” are the final films to be unveiled during the final two days of the Venezia.
If you average out every single critics poll from Venice then this is how the acclaim stands as of Thursday:
3.74 - The Banshees of Inisherin
3.57 - Bones and All
3.54 - All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
3.52 - TAR
3.49 - Saint Omer
3.35 - Argentina, 1985
3.05 - Love Life
3.01 - Monica
2.99 - Other People's Children
2.94 - White Noise
2.87 - The Eternal Daughter
2.86 - Lord of the Ants
2.84 - The Whale
2.67 - Bardo
2.63 - Athena
2.60 - L'immensita
2.55 - A Couple
2.48 - The Son
Back in May, a Warner Bros. source told me ‘Chapter 2’ wasn't coming out in 2026. It was “not in the plans.” The film has been finished for two years.