Venice Film Festival 2026: 15 movies we can't wait to watch

Written by Mariane Tremblay and Xiaoyi Wang

The 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival begins today, and we’re very excited to be covering it again this year. Here is a list of the movies we’re most excited about.

Arrested Memory
Directed by Sabu

This movie basically screams my name: an 87-minute runtime, a superstar police detective, crime investigations, a kidnapping… As an action movie and procedural drama lover, I feel like this movie has everything I need to love it.

Arrested Memory will have its world premiere on September 7. — Mariane

Bucking Fastard
Directed by Werner Herzog

It is always a pleasure to see Herzog back in Venice, especially with this long-awaited film, Bucking Fastard, starring the Mara sisters as twin sisters who are incredibly close to each other, sharing the same love, dreams, and even their speech. The film is a work of fiction based on the story of real-life twin sisters who, back in the 1980s, received a restraining order after stalking the same man.

The film seems to delve deep into psychology while reflecting on the balance and contrasts between different elements. Actions and their reactions. I am very excited to see how Kate and Rooney Mara perform alongside each other in yet another strange, entangling psychological story from Herzog. 

Bucking Fastard will have its world premiere on September 3. — Xiaoyi

Bunker
Directed by Florian Zeller

Starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem — do I even need to say more?

The couple reunites once again in the latest film from French playwright and director Florian Zeller, who directed and co-wrote The Father (2020). As my most anticipated film, I cannot wait to see the intense performances from both actors and discover what kind of psychological story Zeller has crafted.

Bardem will play an architect who accepts a project to build a survival bunker for a tech millionaire, while Cruz plays his wife, who grapples with the morality of the job as it begins to take a toll on him and puts a heavy strain on their marriage. — Xiaoyi

The Color of the Sun
Directed by Xavier Tera

Premiering in the Orizzonti section, Tera’s feature seems like a promising dark horse. Filmed on 35mm by photographer and director Xavier Tera, the film is a coming-of-age story that explores what it means to belong to a place one calls home. During the final summer break before high school graduation on Okinawa’s main island, Kamei and his friends face uncertain futures until they meet Colin (West Mulholland), a teenager from the American base in Naha.

The same place, but different backgrounds. It may have nothing to do with it, but the film’s intercultural aspect and its question of what it means to belong somehow remind me of Celine Song’s Past Lives (2023). Same background, different place.

The film seems to exude a deeply intimate and beautiful perspective on the meeting of cultures and the architecture of a young soul. A genre I am incapable of saying no to. 

The Color of the Sun will have its world premiere on September 9. — Xiaoyi

The Echo Chamber
Directed by Andrea Pallaro

In all honesty, whatever the premise was, I would’ve watched this movie for Susan Sarandon. After all the backlash she faced in Hollywood — which was one hundred percent undeserved — being fired by her agency and blacklisted, I’m just happy she got the chance to get back to work because she’s one of the most brilliant actresses, and she deserves so much more respect than she’s been given in the last few years. And the fact that she is starring in a movie in competition at the Venice Film Festival feels huge to me, and you better believe I’ll be there to show my support for this legend.

But circling back to the movie, the premise ended up being really interesting, and I can’t wait to see what Andrea Pallaro has in store for us after Monica (2022). So, all in all, I’m very pleased with everything about this movie so far, and I can’t wait to watch it with the woman who basically raised me — Stepmom (1998), Shall We Dance? (2004) and Speed Racer (2008) earned many standing ovations in my living room when I was a kid.

The Echo Chamber will have its world premiere on September 6. — Mariane

L'Estranea

Directed by Paolo Strippoli

I have to admit that this movie first piqued my curiosity when I landed in Venice and started seeing its poster all over the Lido — and I think that just goes to show how important a good movie poster can be. The moment I saw it, I immediately went to the festival website to book a ticket.

Directed by Paolo Strippoli, L’Estranea tells the story of a woman who unexpectedly appears at her daughter’s doorstep to tell her the truth about their family — a truth tied to a pact she made with a stranger many years ago. But a secret that has been buried for years has resurfaced to exact its price…

L’Estranea will have its world premiere on September 7. — Mariane

Ink
Directed by Danny Boyle

I’m not familiar with the story behind Danny Boyle’s Ink, but I’m intrigued to see how James Graham adapted his play into a feature film. I feel like it’s always a bit of a hit or miss when a story makes the jump from stage to screen — some plays translate beautifully, while others make you wonder if they were better left on stage. That said, with Boyle behind the camera and Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce, and Claire Foy in front of it, I definitely have high hopes for this one.

Ink will open the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival on September 2. — Mariane

Look Back
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

Though I have not read the original manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto on which the film is based, the coming-of-age story of two small-town schoolgirls who find common ground through a shared passion for art and manga-making, and whose relationship extends into their ambitions, emotional hardships, and dreams of pursuing art, is right down my alley.

At the center are Fujino, a gifted and determined aspiring manga artist, and Kyomoto, a reclusive girl who remains in her room, entirely devoted to drawing. I am hoping to see how the Shoplifters (2018) and Monster (2023) director Koreeda captures the journey of becoming an artist — a journey that I know all too well. 

Look Back will have its world premiere on September 7. — Xiaoyi

No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman
Directed by Halkawt Mustafa

Honestly, the title says it all. 

No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman will have its world premiere on September 2. — Mariane

Paper Plane
Directed by Saoirse Ronan

On top of her already stellar career as an actor, Ronan is set to premiere her directorial debut, Paper Plane, a fifteen-minute short film premiering in competition. With the premise and looking back at her filmography and the directors she has worked with, from Greta Gerwig to Wes Anderson, one can’t help but be eager to discover what she has learned from working alongside so many great filmmakers. 

Paper Plane will have its world premiere on September 3. — Xiaoyi

Possible Love
Directed by Lee Chang-dong

I am not familiar with Lee Chang-dong’s work. However, I’ve only ever heard positive things about his films, and what I love most about this edition of the Venice Film Festival is the opportunity to discover new — or at least new-to-me — filmmakers. After reading the premise and seeing the first images, I was sold.

Possible Love will have its world premiere on September 6. — Mariane

Primetime
Directed by Lance Oppenheim

Robert Pattinson is set to portray television host Chris Hansen in this biographical crime drama, which follows Hansen as he sets out in 2006 to make television history with To Catch a Predator (2004-2007). One of the most anticipated films among the public, A24’s new feature from Lance Oppenheim promises another unearthing of the highly tense behind-the-scenes world of the show. Pattinson, who has been on a run of blockbusters and breakthrough roles, is this time joined by the brilliant Merritt Wever. From the trailer, the film is set to deliver a refreshingly ferocious thriller. 

Primetime will have its world premiere on September 5. — Xiaoyi

Scherzetto
Directed by Mario Martone

I am slightly ashamed to say that I didn’t know Toni Servillo until I watched La Grazia last year — one of my favourite movies of the 82nd edition — but I’m also very happy to say that I discovered an incredibly talented actor, one whom I now consider to be a towering figure in Italian cinema. Needless to say, I’ll gladly watch anything he stars in from now on.

So, it’s no surprise that Scherzetto is on my list of most anticipated movies. I didn’t even know what the premise was, and I was already sold simply because Servillo is in it. But then I read the synopsis, and somehow, I was even more sold: "A childhood home where you no longer live. A city you left behind. A balcony, an emptiness, the voices of the street rising up with their obscene vitality — and then the challenge between a grandfather and his young grandson." How am I supposed to resist that?

Scherzetto will have its world premiere on September 9. — Mariane

Un Bon Avocat
Directed by Tristan Séguéla

I studied law for over three years, and whenever a film has law as its background or central subject, I’m immediately interested. And I will always watch.

It’s no secret that lawyers are known for substance abuse, whether because of the stress of the profession or, perhaps, the thrill. Studies even show that lawyers have one of the highest rates of substance abuse across all professions, so when I read the synopsis, I was already hooked: "Léonard Landry, a flamboyant criminal defence lawyer, overdoses in the middle of the courtroom. After undergoing rehab, he has one week to save his career and prepare for his own trial…"

I think it’s really interesting that director Tristan Séguéla chose to approach this subject through the perspective of a "flamboyant lawyer." As he explains in his director’s statement, movies about addiction often feature outlaws or outcasts, and I feel like we tend to think that addiction only affects those people, when in reality, it could happen to anyone — even the people you’d least expect.

Un Bon Avocat will have its world premiere on September 11. — Mariane

Wild Horse Nine
Directed by Martin McDonagh

Every year, I start the festival with a favorite — a movie I will be rooting for no matter what. I rarely have any explanation to give; it’s just a gut feeling I get, that little voice telling me this is the one. And Wild Horse Nine is the one this year.

I love Martin McDonagh. I think he is such a brilliant director and writer, and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) are two of the best movies I've ever seen. Then you look at the cast of Wild Horse Nine — true to form, just giving us the best — Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, Tom Waits, Parker Posey, Steve Buscemi, Mariana di Girolamo, and I’m already sold. Add a synopsis involving CIA agents, Easter Island, rebellious students, dark pasts, conspiracies, and a 1973 Chilean coup, and you’ve officially got my attention.

Honestly, I don’t even need to know much more. Everything about this movie is screaming that I am going to love this, that I will have a blast watching it, and I’m more than happy to listen.

Wild Horse Nine will have its world premiere on September 3. — Mariane

The Venice Film Festival will take place between September 2-12. 

Photos: Venice Film Festival