Venice Film Festival 2025 Assembles A-List Talent from Clooney to The Rock

22 July 2025

Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

The 82nd Venice International Film Festival, set to run from August 27 to September 6, 2025, is building anticipation with a stellar lineup featuring Hollywood icons and global auteurs. Among the most talked-about premieres are films starring Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Emma Stone, and Dwayne Johnson, each exploring new cinematic terrains and signaling Venice’s role as the official launchpad for the awards season.

Julia Roberts returns to the Lido red carpet in a #MeToo era drama titled After the Hunt, directed by Luca Guadagnino and co-starring Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri, while George Clooney headlines Noah Baumbach’s comedy-drama Jay Kelly, alongside Adam Sandler and Laura Dern. Emma Stone reunites with director Yorgos Lanthimos for Bugonia, a satirical adaptation of the South Korean cult film Save the Green Planet!, carrying on their creative chemistry following Poor Things. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appears in Benny Safdie’s gripping MMA biopic, The Smashing Machine, co-starring Emily Blunt, promising a raw and intense portrayal of the fighting world.

Festival attendees can also expect a diverse slate from celebrated directors: Guillermo del Toro debuts his Netflix-backed Frankenstein, featuring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi; Olivier Assayas returns with The Wizard of the Kremlin, a psychological drama with Jude Law portraying Vladimir Putin; and Jim Jarmusch offers Father Mother Sister Brother, a family anthology film starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, and Tom Waits.

European auteurs are fully represented: Paolo Sorrentino will open the festival with La Grazia, starring Toni Servillo; Hungary’s László Nemes presents his most personal film yet, Orphan; François Ozon reinterprets Camus in L’Étranger; and Kaouther Ben Hania introduces The Voice of Hind Rajab, a documentary using real emergency recordings to chronicle the tragic plight of a Palestinian child killed in Gaza.

Reflecting Venice’s broad cinematic ambition, other notable entries include In the Hand of Dante by Julian Schnabel, Dead Man’s Wire from Gus Van Sant, and Kathryn Bigelow’s geopolitical thriller A House of Dynamite, starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson.

The festival’s jury, headed by American filmmaker Alexander Payne, features a distinguished international ensemble of directors and actors entrusted with awarding the coveted Golden Lion. Venice’s track record is formidable: in recent years films that premiered here such as Spotlight, Nomadland, and Poor Things have gone on to win Oscars, reinforcing the festival’s significance in award season.

Behind the glamour, Venice offers strategic timing and exposure. Netflix returns in force after a year’s absence, debuting three major projects including Frankenstein and Jay Kelly, strengthening its push into prestige cinema. Lifetime achievement honors this year will be bestowed upon cinematic legends Werner Herzog and Kim Novak, further anchoring the festival’s reputation as a celebration of both innovation and heritage.

As August approaches, all eyes are on Venice not just as a backdrop of romantic canals but as a pivotal showcase for cinematic craftsmanship, cultural commentary, and high-stakes storytelling. With such a formidable lineup, Venice 2025 looks set to captivate audiences, critics, and industry insiders, cementing its influence on the global film landscape and setting the tone for the year’s award season.