The 82nd Venice Movie Competition could also be over, however the conversations on the movies that premiered, the issues individuals mentioned, the garments they wore, and the way it impacts the Oscar race are nonetheless going.
Right here’s a rundown of the massive moments and takeaways from this yr’s version.
What received massive on the Venice Movie Competition?
Jim Jarmusch’s quiet movie “Father Mom Sister Brother” took the highest prize, the Golden Lion. It was a shock to many who anticipated that honor to go to “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which ended up with the runner up award, or “No Different Alternative.”
Apart from Benny Safdie’s greatest director win for “The Smashing Machine,” Hollywood gamers had been largely shut out of the awards in favor of a various, worldwide choice. Chinese language actor Xin Zhilei received greatest actress for Cai Shangjun’s “The Solar Rises on Us All,” Italian icon Toni Servillo received greatest actor for “La Grazia” and Swiss actor Luna Wedler took the up-and-comer prize, the Marcello Mastroianni Award, for “Silent Good friend.”
Who could be an Oscars participant?
The awards didn’t give many hints, however Venice has been recognized to launch a number of greatest actor campaigns together with Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker,”Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” and Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist.” This yr the obvious heavyweight to comply with is Dwayne Johnson for his flip as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine.”
Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons had been additionally unusual and fierce as kidnapped and kidnapper in Yorgos Lanthimos’s provocative “Bugonia.” Oscar Isaac portrayed Victor Frankenstein as a romantic madman and Jacob Elordi was naïve and uncooked because the monster. Amanda Seyfried put a human, feminist, face to the non secular sect the shakers in “The Testomony of Ann Lee,” and Julia Roberts flexed her performing muscular tissues as a Yale philosophy professor within the midst of a misconduct accusation towards a colleague in “After the Hunt.”
Filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow and former Golden Lion winners Guillermo del Toro and Yorgos Lanthimos will even probably be within the dialog for months to return.
Why was Seth Rogen all over the place?
There’s all the time some surprising Hollywood individual on the Venice Movie Competition who doesn’t appear to be related to anybody movie. Typically they’ve are available in for amfAR, generally they’ve been invited by one of many competition’s sponsors. However textual content chains began blowing up when Seth Rogen began popping up all over the place: Pink carpets, press conferences, events. Don’t be shocked if there’s a Venice episode of “The Studio” within the works: This journey was analysis, and possibly even a bit extra.
Julia Roberts and Amanda Seyfried’s sisterhood of the touring Versace?
In a cute, surprising (presumably extremely staged) second in the course of the competition, Amanda Seyfried commented on Julia Roberts’ Instagram asking to “please let me put on the identical outfit.” Three days later, Seyfried was additionally rocking the Versace blazer, denims, button up and belt, simply with totally different footwear. It helps that they share a stylist, Elizabeth Stewart.
There was a report standing ovation
First, let’s simply clarify that leisure commerce publications solely began monitoring Venice standing ovations just lately. This yr, audiences on the premiere of “The Voice of Hind Rajab” applauded for 22-minutes, surpassing the 18-minute report set final yr by “The Room Subsequent Door,” which went on to win the Golden Lion. Even with a restricted knowledge set, that’s a very long time to clap after a film.
Different standing ovation instances from the 82nd competition: “After the Hunt” ((tilde)5 minutes), “Bugonia” ((tilde)6 minutes), “No Different Alternative” ((tilde)7 minutes), “Jay Kelly” ((tilde)9 minutes), “The Wizard of the Kremlin” ((tilde)10 minutes), “A Home of Dynamite” ((tilde)11 minutes), “Frankenstein” ((tilde)14 minutes), “The Testomony of Ann Lee” ((tilde)quarter-hour), “The Smashing Machine” ((tilde)quarter-hour).
Politics and battle on the massive display
The competition may not take political stances, however politics, and filmmakers grappling with the state of the world, from the Israel-Hamas battle to nuclear weapons, had been clearly prime of thoughts. Kathryn Bigelow set off a warning shot about nuclear weapons and the equipment of choice making together with her pressing, and distressingly reasonable, thriller “A Home of Dynamite.” Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania made an important doc of the human toll in Gaza with “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” And Olivier Assayas charted the rise of Vladimir Putin in “The Wizard of the Kremlin.”
Gaza additionally dominated conversations off display too, from a protest that drew an estimated 10,000 individuals, to awards speeches.
Greatest quotes from the 2025 Venice Movie Competition
“The actual monsters are the lads in fits.” — Jacob Elordi, who performs Frankenstein’s monster in a giant finances Netflix movie.
“I’ve been very lucky to have the profession that I’ve had and make the movies that I’ve, however there was simply this voice within me, this little voice, like what if I can do extra.” — Dwayne Johnson on his transformative, critical flip as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine.”
“I think about just about all company cash is soiled cash.” — Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, when requested about Mubi’s relationship with Sequoia Capital.
“How is annihilating the world a very good defensive measure? I imply, what are you defending?” — Filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow on the nuclear stockpiles.
“Humanity is going through a reckoning very quickly. Individuals want to decide on the best path, in any other case, I don’t know the way a lot time we’ve got.” — Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos on the relevance of “Bugonia.”
“Everybody comes out with all these totally different emotions and feelings and factors of views. And also you understand what you imagine in strongly and what your convictions are as a result of we stir all of it up for you. So, you’re welcome.” — Julia Roberts on the debates stirred by “After the Hunt.”
“It’s time on the finish of your life to place the puzzle items collectively and make them match.” — Kim Novak, 92, on receiving the competition’s lifetime achievement award.
For extra protection of the Venice Movie Competition, go to https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.
—Lindsey Bahr, AP Movie Author
