George Clooney Wins Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion
Amal Clooney arrived at the Sala Grande on September 2 in a black Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann gown, matched to her husband's tuxedo, for a red carpet that was as much about who accepted an award that night as who walked it. George Clooney received one of this year's two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd Venice Film Festival's opening ceremony - and stuck around Venice long enough to teach a livestreamed masterclass today, three days into a festival that runs through September 12.
The Lido has spent the week arguing that the old model of a film festival - stars, boats, ten days of red carpet - still works in an era when studios increasingly premiere their biggest titles somewhere other than a festival stage. Venice's opening slate suggests the format has some life left in it yet.
The Opening Night That Set the Tone
Danny Boyle's "Ink," a Netflix drama tracing Rupert Murdoch's 1969 acquisition of The Sun and the transformation of British tabloid journalism that followed, opened the festival in competition on September 2. Guy Pearce plays Murdoch opposite Jack O'Connell as editor Larry Lamb and Claire Foy in a supporting role; Boyle called it his first time competing at Venice after decades of filmmaking. Foy wore Bottega Veneta with Swarovski-set jewelry and Christian Louboutin heels on the carpet; Laura Dern paired a Prada dress with Cartier jewelry; jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal wore a tailored look from The Row for the afternoon jury photocall, then switched to Celine for the evening premiere. Nina Dobrev, in Armani Privé, and Kate Mara, arriving by boat at the Hotel Excelsior in Max Mara, rounded out an opening-night lineup that also pulled in Werner Herzog, J Balvin, Guy Pearce, and Jonathan Bailey.
Clooney's Golden Lion was the ceremony's centerpiece. He's returned to Venice repeatedly across a directing and acting career that spans "Syriana," "Good Night, and Good Luck," and this year's "Jay Kelly," and used his acceptance to call the festival his favorite on the circuit - a claim with some history behind it, given how often his films have premiered on the Lido specifically.
Today's Lineup Moves From Ceremony to Competition
September 3 shifted the festival from red-carpet ritual into its competition proper. Werner Herzog's "Bucking Fastard" had its photocall today, with Rooney Mara - wearing Stella McCartney's spring 2026 collection - appearing alongside her real sister Kate Mara, who plays her character's twin in the film. The two play inseparable, synchronized sisters opposite Orlando Bloom as the man who comes between them, a real-sisters-playing-fictional-sisters casting choice that's already generating its own conversation heading into the premiere.
Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" also launched today, reuniting Sam Rockwell with the director behind "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" for a dark comedy centered on CIA agents. John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi round out a cast that gives the film some of the festival's heaviest character-actor wattage outside the marquee premieres.
Why This Matters Beyond Venice
For American audiences, Venice functions less like a foreign festival and more like the opening lap of the awards season circuit that runs through the Oscars in March - a Telluride-and-Toronto-adjacent proving ground where a film's festival reception starts shaping its distributor's campaign strategy almost immediately. "Ink" landing on Netflix rather than in theaters is itself a small data point in that ongoing story, one more major awards contender routed through a streaming release rather than a traditional theatrical run.
The festival closes September 12 with Giovanni Veronesi's "God Laughs" and the announcement of this year's Golden Lion for best film. Robert Pattinson, Penélope Cruz, and Patrick Schwarzenegger are still expected on the Lido before then.
