We already know that Alexander Payne will be chairing the jury for the 82nd Venice Film Festival. The jurors he will be presiding over were announced this morning, and they include acclaimed filmmakers Stéphane Brizé, Cristian Mungiu, Maura Delpero and Mohammad Rasoulof. Meanwhile, there’s also Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, and Chinese actress Zhao Tao.
The full lineup for the 82nd Venice Film Festival will be announced on July 22. A lot of intel is starting to drop, and although last minute decisions will no doubt occur, the competition lineup is starting to take shape. So, let’s get right to it.
François Ozon’s “The Stranger” is ready and has even announced an October 2025 release date in France. It’s going to world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and is one of three French films “locked” for competition.
Based on Albert Camus’s seminal 1942 novel, “The Stranger” stars Benjamin Voisin as Meursault, the emotionally detached French-Algerian man whose murder of an Arab man leads to a trial more concerned with his lack of grief than the crime itself. Ozon shot the film in black and white.
Ozon, 57, is really prolific, releasing one, sometimes even two films per year. Out of the 23 films he’s directed, Ozon’s three greatest accomplishments have been 2001’s “Under the Sand,” 2003’s “Swimming Pool,” and 2019’s “By the Grace of God.” Agree?
While we’re at it, it can be confirmed that three French titles will be in Venice competition: Ozon’s “The Stranger,” Olivier Assayas’ “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” and Valérie Donzelli‘s À Pied d’Oeuvre.” A fourth French film is being discussed as a possibility, but there seem to be reservations about adding one; currently Arnaud Desplechin’s “Deux Pianos,” Claire Denis’ “The Fence,” and even Romain Gavras’ “Sacrifice” are rumored to be in contention.
On the Italian side, and with Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” already announced as the opener, I’m hearing up to six filmmakers might be in competition, including Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, Pietro Marcello’s “Duse,” Gianfranco Rosi’s “Below the Clouds,” and Leonardo Di Costanzo‘s “I Wanted to Kill Her.”
On the outside looking in, but still possibilities for the fifth (and maybe sixth slots), Giuseppe Piccioni‘s “Zvani,” Franco Maresco‘s “Un Film Fatto per Bene,” Laura Samani’s “One Year of School,” and Andrea Di Stefano‘s “The Teacher.”
A potential surprise might come from Malaysia, where Chong Keat Aun‘s "Mother Bhumi", a film that greatly impressed the selection committee, seems to be inching ever so close to a competition slot.
We already reported on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” most likely skipping the Lido. There’s also Gregg Araki’s “I Want Your Sex,” which isn’t showing up, rejected by both Cannes and Venice. Ditto Alice Winocour’s “Couture,” starring Angelina Jolie, which might now be headed to TIFF or San Sebastian.
I’m hearing Werner Herzog might premiere his latest, “Bucking Fastard,” starring Rooney and Kate Mara, but the film won’t be in competition since the German filmmaker will also be honored with an honorary Golden Lion.
Also potentially eyed is Lucrecia Martel’s “Chocobar,” which, if you can believe it, is still in the editing room. In fact, Martel has been editing, and archiving, this documentary for six years now. The film is positioned for a Spring 2026 release, per PR. No word yet on whether it’ll be in or out of competition.
MAIN COMPETITION CONTENDERS
After the Hunt (Luca Guadagnino)
A House of Dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)
Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)
Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)
The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie)
Father Mother Brother Sister (Jim Jarmusch)
The Ballad of a Small Player (Edward Berger)
No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
La Grazia (Paolo Sorrentino)
The Wizard of the Kremlin (Olivier Assayas)
In the Hands of Dante (Julian Schnabel)
The Testament of Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold)
Hamnet (Chloe Zhao)
Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)
Untitled/Gaza (Kaouther Ben Hania)
One Year of School (Laura Samani)
Mother Bhumi (Chong Keat Aun)
Below the Clouds (Gianfranco Rosi)
Duse (Pietro Marcello)
I Wanted to Kill Her (Leonardo Di Costanzo)
The Stranger (Francois Ozon)
À pied d’œuvre (Valérie Donzelli)
Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel)
UPDATE: TIFF lineup reveals these are going:
Dead Man’s Wire (Gus Van Sant)
Silent Friend (Ildikó Enyedi)
Rose of Nevada (Mark Jenkin)
Scarlet (Mamoru Hosada)
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
The Fence (Claire Denis)
Wake of Umbra (Carlos Reygadas)
Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel)
At the Sea (Kornél Mundruczó)
Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky)
Anemone (Ronan Day-Lewis)
Scarlet (Mamoru Hosada)
El Ser Querido (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)
Switzerland (Anton Corbijn)
Deliver Me From Nowhere (Scott Cooper)
Redoubt (John Skoo)
& Sons (Pablo Trapero)
Occupation (Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi)
Dao (Alain Gomis)
Rosebush Pruning (Karim Ainouz)
Une Illusion (Naomi Kawase)
The Dreamed Adventure (Valeska Grisebach)
Yellow Letters (Ilker Çatak)
Unidentified (Haifaa al-Mansour)
Rose (Markus Schleinzer)
Untitled (Abu Bakr Shawky)
Calle Malaga (Maryam Touzani)
Musk (Alex Gibney)
The short version: "Woman Unknown" was a compromise. The jury deadlocked over "Possible Love" and "NAZA," not able to com to terms, fell back on their #3, May el-Toukhy's film.