Venice 2026’s largest stars may very well be in documentaries

A number of the largest stars at this yr’s Venice Movie Competition will not be the well-known faces strolling the crimson carpet, however the high-profile topics of documentaries starting from the intoxicating to the grippingly pressing.

From Oscar winner Alex Gibney’s 4-hour dissection of Elon Musk and Disney’s intimate reunion movie, Oasis, to I AMthe politically charged documentary on “Israel’s calculated bloodbath of Palestinian civilians in Gaza” and the ICE documentary They’re there by Laura Poitras (one other Oscar winner) — most of the must-see movies at Lido this yr are clearly non-fiction. And, arguably, the most important star who might or might not stroll the Venice crimson carpet – other than Noel and Liam Gallagher – will in all probability achieve this for a documentary. Structure superfan Brad Pitt just lately turned govt producer of the 14-year-old documentary portrait of Peter Zumthor by Wim Wenders, the Swiss visionary behind the brand new Los Angeles County Museum of Artwork – one other gem amongst Venice in 2026’s stacked documentary lineup.

“It’s an exceptional yr for docs in Venice, and I believe it will likely be one of many huge tales of this version,” says Emilie Spiegel, co-head of Cinetic Advertising and marketing, a status promoting company that accounts for a substantial share of the favourite awards every fall. “The truth that the world’s oldest pageant so clearly declares that documentary is cinema and that a number of the most enjoyable work takes place there may be actually important. Within the midst of budgetary contractions and studio consolidation, I additionally suppose it’s optimistic and sensible of Venice to champion non-fiction right now.”

Via its breadth, depth, variety and pedigree, Venice has clearly established itself because the preeminent platform for high-end non-fiction filmmaking among the many world’s finest festivals. Whereas Cannes has been far more sporadic in its assist of the shape and Berlin has tended to ship amount over high quality, Venice has all the time introduced the bangers – and the 2026 choice appears to be among the many finest but.
Two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple is again with Union Metropolisa cinema verite portrait of New York supply males taking up a number of the strongest firms on the planet; Free singleplayer Oscar winners Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi return to the intense sports activities subject with Everest: the opposite aspectabout two mountaineers’ daring try to scale and ski the north face of the world’s highest mountain; Truffle hunters Duo Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw decamp to French wine nation for a romantic and information-packed journey. Burgundy; and Takashi Miike, after greater than 100 movies and three many years spent fortunately leaping between genres, makes his first documentary with Shumei: The Residing Legacy of Kabukifilmed over greater than three years with uncommon entry to the internal sanctum of the world of conventional Japanese Kabuki theater.

Elsewhere, Julia Loktev follows her epic portrait of impartial Russian journalists with My Undesirable Associates: Half II – Exileone other immersion of just about six hours; Russell Crowe turns the digicam on himself and his globe-trotting rock band for what Venice chief Alberto Barbera known as the star’s “most private” movie. And that is earlier than making an allowance for Erik Shirai’s Sumo: the thoughts weighs nothingwhich guarantees uncommon entry to a different of Japan’s most well-known traditions; That of Robert Greene An excessive amount of sugara strikingly unique documentary on fatherhood and masculinity; or Mariano Llinás’ three-part biography of greater than 5 hours on Jorge Luis Borges.

The pageant has much more firmly built-in its assist for documentaries this yr, with a brand new part devoted to “Movie on movies”, the place Luca Guadagnino’s gargantuan meditation, lasting greater than seven hours, on the good Bernardo Bertolucci rubs shoulders with that of Sophie Fiennes and Slavoj Zizek. The Pervert’s Information to Utopias, a tribute to the cult of Seijun Suzuki, and extra.

The presence of documentary cinema in Venice dates again to the very first version of the pageant in 1932, when the 12-minute Dutch avant-garde documentary by Joris Ivens and Mannus Franken Rain (Or Regeneration) screened throughout the closing night of the inaugural version. However it wasn’t till the Barbera period that nonfiction cinema vied for — and shortly received — the pageant’s flagship honor. Shortly after taking the reins of the pageant for the second time in 2012, Barbera introduced two documentaries within the pageant’s primary competitors for the primary time in 2013: that of Errol Morris. The identified unknown and that of Gianfranco Rosi sacred GRA — and the latter shortly received the Golden Lion. The house and significance Barbera gave to nonfiction has solely grown through the years.

“That is maybe not the results of a deliberate strategic alternative, however quite the consequence of the truth that, yr after yr, we obtain an rising variety of purposes within the documentary style, the significance of which – each from an aesthetic perspective and its capacity to supply illustration and contribute to our understanding of the key problems with our time – is maybe unprecedented,” explains Barbera. “I really feel that the monetary sources out there to make documentaries have elevated, because of the rising demand from streaming platforms but in addition the elevated curiosity of the general public, who at the moment are far more prepared to observe good high quality non-fiction movies.”

In each documentaries and fiction movies, Venice has additionally adopted a commendably impartial stance in recent times with regards to movies that deal with battle and troublesome social points.

“I believe Venice is among the few worldwide cultural platforms that has the power to ask filmmakers with very totally different, even opposing, political positions and cultural viewpoints and put their work in dialog,” stated Ukrainian director and producer Alexander Rodnyansky, identified for his work with Russian writer Andrey Zvyagintsev and who directed and introduced the extremely private documentary final yr. Notes from a real felony in Venice. Rodnyansky highlights the sobriety that Venice has proven in screening daring Ukrainian and Palestinian movies, akin to Hind Rajab’s voice in 2025 and the Gaza paperwork I AM and that of Ahmed Hassouna Citizen Osama this yr – in addition to the works of free-thinking Russian and Israeli filmmakers, with out succumbing to the blanket bans that some have known as for in opposition to movies and filmmakers from these nations. “After all, state propaganda should not have any place, however the creation of true impartial cinema have to be welcomed wherever it comes from,” he says.

Rodnyansky is the producer of the Israeli documentary Amos Gitai’s The highway to Jerichoa visit from Jerusalem to Jericho that visits the nation’s threatened Bedouin neighborhood whereas reflecting on the Israeli-Palestinian peace course of. The movie will probably be previewed within the non-fiction part out of competitors in Venice. “As you perceive, it is not a simple time for Israeli filmmakers in the intervening time. They’re having numerous hassle getting their movies accepted into main festivals, it doesn’t matter what they suppose,” says Rodnyansky.

“We reside in turbulent instances and a pageant ought to attempt to mirror the polarization of the societies we observe and proceed the dialog utilizing creative means,” he provides. “It’s a quite simple mission, and I believe Barbera inherited that legacy and continued to counterpoint it in an excellent manner.”