Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Hollywood is taking a step back at this year’s Venice film festival, with organisers on Thursday unveiling a more independent-minded line-up that promotes auteur cinema over the studio-heavy rosters of recent editions.
But even if the big U.S. producers have decided to steer clear of the Lagoon city, just as they did at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Venice looks set to retain its place as one of the industry’s premier celebrity showcases.
A roster of A-listers, including George Clooney, Robert Pattinson, John Malkovich, Penelope Cruz and Rooney Mara, is expected to take to Venice’s red carpet, while Liam and Noel Gallagher will bring some rock-and-roll to the world’s oldest film festival to launch a documentary about their group Oasis.
The 2026 programme includes new films from a clutch of high-profile directors, including Martin McDonagh, Florian Zeller, Danny Boyle, Werner Herzog and Hirokazu Kore-eda who will be vying for the Golden Lion Award at the September 2 to 12 event.
Festival director Alberto Barbera made no mention of this year’s almost imperceptible Hollywood footprint, but said his team had sifted through a record 4,500 entries, showing that cinema remained an enduring cultural force around the world.
