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A brilliant narrator of unusual stories, Herzog is also the last heir of the great tradition of German romanticism, a visionary humanist, and a tireless explorer
dedicated to perpetual wandering, in search (as he said) «of a decent and fitting place for mankind, a Landscape of the Soul»”.
The aim of the festival is to raise awareness and promote cinema
The aim of the festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. One section is devoted to enhance the restoration works on classic films as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.
Venice film festival is the oldest film event in the world
The 82nd Venice International Film Festival, as the world's oldest film event, is chaired by Alberto Barbera and with the screening of works by directors from different countries in the Competition, including; 21 feature films in the Main Competition, 19 feature films and 14 short films in the Orizzonti Competition, Critics' Week Competition, 7 Horizons Short Films; A Tribute to the Wave in the Ocean School (AWITO), 8 Feature Films in the Venezia Spotlight, 30 Short Films in the Immersive Competition, 28 feature films in the restored works section of Classic Films, 5 short films and 4 feature films in the College Cinema, 14 films in the “Best of Experiences” section, 23 films in the "Best of the World" section, 4 feature films in the special Cinema and Music, the non-competitive Critics Week, the Master Classes with Cinema Characters, and... are being held from August 27 to September 7, 2025, in Venice, Italy.
The jury members of the International Competition
Chaired by American director Alexander Payne, the International Jury of the Venezia 82 Competition will include the following members: French director and screenwriter Stéphane Brizé; Italian director and screenwriter Maura Delpero; Romanian director, writer and producer Cristian Mungiu; Iranian director and writer Mohammad Rasoulof; Brazilian actress, writer and screenwriter Fernanda Torres; and Chinese actress Zhao Tao.
Awarding the prestigious Golden Lion award of Venice
The Golden Lion for Best Film and other official awards will be announced at the closing ceremony of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on the stage of the grand auditorium of the Palazzo del Cinema on Venice Lido.
The Jury of Venezia 82 will award the following official prizes to the feature films in Competition, with no joint awards allowed: Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
The jury members of the Orizzonti competition
Chaired by French director and screenwriter Julia Ducournau, the international jury of Orizzonti will also include: Italian director and videoartist Yuri Ancarani; Argentine film critic Fernando Enrique Juan Lima; Australian director Shannon Murphy; American artist and filmmaker RaMell Ross.
The Orizzonti Jury will award the following prizes, with no joint awards allowed: Orizzonti Award for Best Film, Orizzonti Award for Best Director, Special Orizzonti Jury Prize, Orizzonti Award for Best Actress, Orizzonti Award for Best Actor, Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay, Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.
“Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film Jury
Chaired by Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells, the international jury of the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film will also include French-Tunisian director and producer Erige Sehiri and Italian director and screenwriter Silvio Soldini.
The Jury of the Venice Award for a Debut Film will award to one of the debut feature-length films selected from the various competitive sections of the Venice Film Festival (Official Selection and Independent and Parallel Sidebars), with no joint awards allowed, the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis”
Francis Ford Coppola presents the Golden Lion award of the Venice Film Festival to Werner Herzog
Francis Ford Coppola, a renowned cinematographer, presented the honorary Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement in cinema to German director and screenwriter Werner Herzog at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.
According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international cinema journalist, The 82nd Venice International Film Festival officially opened at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at the Sala Grande in Venice, Italy, with the screening of the film “La Grazia” written and directed by Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino and starring Tony Servillo and Anna Ferzetti.
Paolo Sorrentino returns to the competition with “La Grazia”
“I am very happy that the 82nd Venice International Film Festival will open with the new and highly anticipated film by Paolo Sorrentino – stated Alberto Barbera – I like to recall that one of the most important and internationally acclaimed Italian auteurs made his debut right here at the Biennale di Venezia in 2001 with his first film, One Man Up, in my early years as the Artistic Director. The relationship with the Venice Film Festival became consolidated over the years with the presentation out of competition of the first episodes in the series The Young Pope (seasons one and two) and, above all, with The Hand of God which, in 2021, won the Silver Lion-Grand Jury Prize. Paolo Sorrentino’s return in competition comes with a film destined to leave its mark for its great originality and powerful relevance to the present time, which the audiences of the Venice Film Festival will have the pleasure of discovering on opening night.”
Honorary Golden Lion Award presented to Werner Herzog
At the opening ceremony of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, the Honorary Golden Lion Award for lifetime achievement in cinema was presented by world-renowned director Francis Ford Coppola to experienced German director and screenwriter Werner Herzog.
Herzog: I have always tried to be a good soldier of cinema
Werner Herzog, accepting the award, said: “I feel deeply honored to receive a Lifetime Achievement Honorary Golden Lion by the Venice Biennale. I have always tried to be a Good Soldier of Cinema, and this feels like a medal for my work. Thank you. However, I have not gone into retirement. I work as always. A few weeks ago, I just finished a documentary in Africa, Ghost Elephants, and at this moment, I am shooting my next feature film, Bucking Fastard, in Ireland. I am developing an animated film, based on my novel, The Twilight World, and I am acting the voice of a creature in Bong Joon Ho’s upcoming animated film. I am not done yet”.
Establishing Herzog as one of the main innovators of the new German cinema
Regarding this award, Director Alberto Barbera declared: “A physical filmmaker and indefatigable hiker, Werner Herzog constantly crosses the planet Earth pursuing hitherto unseen images, testing our ability to look, challenging us to grasp what lies beyond the appearance of reality, and probing the limits of filmic representation in an unflagging search for a higher, ecstatic truth and new sensorial experiences. Establishing himself as one of the major innovators of New German Cinema with films such as Signs of Life; Nosferatu the Vampyre; Aguirre, the Wrath of God; and Fitzcarraldo, Bad Lieutenant, Port of Call: New Orleans, and Grizzly Man, he has never ceased from testing the limits of the film language, belying the traditional distinction between documentary and fiction, and at the same time proposing a radical investigation of the topics of communication, the relationship between images and music, and of the infinite beauty of nature and its inevitable corruption. Herzog’s career is both fascinating and hazardous because it involves total commitment and putting oneself on the line to the point of physical risk, where catastrophe constantly lurks.
Venice Award for a Debut Film, with the cash prize of 100,000 USD donated by Filmauro, will be divided equally between the director and the producer.
Kim Novak Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the Venice 2025
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival has been awarded to the American actress Kim Novak.
Kim Novak in accepting the offer, declared: “I am deeply, deeply touched to receive the prestigious Golden Lion Award from such an enormously respected film festival. To be recognized for my body of work at this time in my life is a dream come true. I will treasure every moment I spend in Venice. It will fill my heart with joy”.
Masterclasses and Conversations in the new Match Point Arena
After the success of last year, the Masterclasses and Conversations with cinema personalities are back at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia, for the second time at the Match Point Arena (250 seats), set up at the Tennis Club Venezia on the Lido, in front of the Hotel Excelsior. Free entry for accredited pass holders.
In particular, five Masterclasses will be held by directors and performers, including the German director Werner Herzog (2025 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement) on Thursday 28 August at 4.00 pm, the Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke (Golden Lion for Best Film in 2006 for Still Life) on Saturday 30 August at 4.00 pm, the legendary American actress Kim Novak (2025 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement) on Wednesday 3 September at 4.00 pm, the Romanian director Cristian Mungiu (member of the Venezia 82 jury; 2007 Palme d’or for Best Film ) on Thursday 4 September at 2:30 pm and Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang (Golden Lion for Best Film in 1994 for Vive l'amour) on Friday 5 September at 4.00 pm.
There will be four Conversations organised by Cartier - The Art and Craft of Cinema, in collaboration with La Biennale, which will include the dialogue between American director, Academy Award winner Sofia Coppola (Golden Lion for Best Film in 2010 for Somewhere) and Italian costume designer Milena Canonero (four-time Academy Award winner) on Friday 29 August at 3.30 pm; Italian actor and director Sergio Castellitto with Italian writer Margaret Mazzantini on Sunday 31 August at 4.00 pm; the Mexican Academy Award winner director Alfonso Cuarón (Golden Lion for Best Film in 2018 for Roma) with cinematographer Michael Seresin on Monday 1 September at 4.00 pm; and New Zealand Academy Award winner director Jane Campion (Silver Lion for Best Directing in 2021 for The Power of the Dog) with English producer Tanya Seghatchian on Tuesday 2 September at 4.00 pm.