Select spritzes, water taxis, glittering premieres and late-night, canal-side parties – it can only be the Venice Film Festival. And while the line-up for the 83rd edition was perhaps a little slimmer on blockbusters and future awards contenders than usual, that didn’t stop a whole host of A-listers from sailing to the Lido and putting on a show. Here are all the moments you might have missed from the festival.
Is it even Venice without the power couple dominating the red carpet? George didn’t have a film to promote this year, but instead came to Venice to collect his Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. After receiving the award from his friend, Laura Dern, the 65-year-old told the assembled crowd: “We’re living through a moment in time where people in charge, the people with the most money, are telling us to fear one another. But we know better than that, don’t we? Because history does teach us a lesson. The first people that authoritarians tried to shut down are not politicians. They’re journalists who ask questions. They’re the artists who refuse simple answers; the filmmakers, writers, actors and musicians who insist that someone you never met is deserving of your empathy. Stories are always dangerous to people who peddle in fear, the people who are afraid of books and music and stories are never the heroes in history. So, yes, movies don’t stop wars, they don’t lower inflation, they don’t fix elections, but they do something remarkable. They remind us that a stranger is never a stranger, and that he might just be the hero in somebody else’s story.”
Laura Dern with her friend, Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipient, George Clooney.
…but Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem came for their crown
In support of their new film, Florian Zeller’s marriage-in-crisis drama , the couple (ironically) looked more in love than ever, holding hands and whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears as they navigated the step and repeat. Following a 15-minute standing ovation, Cruz could be seen sobbing uncontrollably before kissing her husband of 16 years.
Also worth an honorary mention? Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse, who were adorable together at the premiere of his new film, , and also shared a kiss during its eight-minute standing ovation.
Siblings twinned
The Gallagher brothers at the premiere of Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.
From co-stars Rooney and Kate Mara to Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger’s Noel and Liam Gallagher (who, perhaps wisely, skipped their joint press conference for their new concert documentary), siblings went matchy-matchy on the red carpet. It was also hilarious watching the latter pair attempt to navigate a standing ovation – Liam eyed his watch and mouthed “Should we fuck off?”, but was persuaded to stay for the eight minutes of applause. Then, as the brothers descended into the crowd to sign autographs, all hell broke loose.
The fashion crowd stole the show
Kendall Jenner at the premiere of .
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Getty Images
Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner, Bhavitha Mandava, Vittoria Ceretti, Mariacarla Boscono, Bianca Balti… models have long been a Venice mainstay, but this year, they stole our hearts (and column inches) like never before. Bellissima.
A 93-year-old Ellen Burstyn proved that age is just a number
Collecting her Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, the industry legend – who recently had a fall and is now moving slightly slower than usual, with the help of a zimmer frame – shed tears and reflected on her incredible six decade-long career. “You can’t imagine how meaningful this is to me,” the star of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, and said, beaming. “It’s one thing to win an Oscar, a Tony or an Emmy – all of which I’ve won. But this… it’s a lot.” Most remarkably, the actor was in Venice for the premieres of two other projects, too: her Marilyn Monroe-centric short film , and Kornél Mundruczó’s whimsical drama Place to Be. The 93-year-old, it seems, is busier than ever.
John Malkovich had a ball
In Martin McDonagh’s , the 72-year-old gives a very funny, kooky and then heartbreaking turn as a CIA agent going rogue – and he continued his hot streak on the red carpet, with a playful wardrobe featuring retro prints and a -esque ruff. Expect him to keep upping his game for the rest of awards season.
Pamela Anderson played the bombshell
The 59-year-old pin-up – one of Ellen Burstyn’s co-stars in Place to Be – brought a generous dose of va va voom to the festival, with her movie star sunglasses and assortment of diaphanous, floaty gowns. Bonus points for her big hair and bare-faced radiance.
Phoebe Bridgers rewrote the red-carpet rulebook
A young musician transitioning from stage to screen and making their Venice debut might be tempted to play it down in something understated. Not so when you’re Phoebe Bridgers. Riding high off her recent hit album, and now making her formal acting debut in opposite Robert Pattinson, the superstar dabbled in naked dressing, as well as seemingly taking a leaf out of Julia Roberts’s red-carpet playbook: for the film’s photo call, she chose a Gucci skirt suit which showed off her unshaven legs. Of course, this is hardly revolutionary in 2026, but still a rarity on the Lido – and evidence of Bridgers’s determination to always show up as herself, no matter what people might expect of her.
There was a record-breaking standing ovation
At Venice last year, Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab set a new record for the longest standing ovation in festival history, with 23 minutes of applause following the credits. This time around, another film about Gaza surpassed that record, with an astonishing 25-minute ovation: Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s , a documentary exposing the calculated targeting of civilians in missile strikes by Israeli military through the testimony of intelligence personnel and soldiers involved in the killing.
Susan Sarandon remained a legend
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The actor, who has long been vocal in her support of Palestinians, was in Venice for the premiere of her latest film, , and spoke openly about being blacklisted by Hollywood as a result. “I think that the narrative has completely changed in terms of the historical relevance of Palestine and the ties of Zionists with America and our politics,” she told journalists at her film’s press conference. “That has been a major revelation for people. How much money the United States gives to Israel? Nobody really understood that… so there’s a lot of things that people are aware of now. I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that’s the power structure. I think within the people, certainly internationally, I feel welcome. So it depends. If it’s a major studio, I think there is, not just with me but with other people, that have been told that that is impossible in terms of being able to do this film.”
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Of her director in this project, Andrea Pallaoro, she added: “I thank Andrea for that because he didn’t listen to the warnings. So, I think yes, there has been a change in terms of understanding of the situation, and I think the general public. But there are still very strongly held positions within my industry that are held by Zionists who have not relaxed their feelings towards me, but I found my family, I found my people, and I’m okay.”
An Elon Musk documentary made waves
Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney’s almost-four-hour-long , an in-depth portrait of the erratic billionaire, earned rave reviews – though, naturally, not from its subject. Musk went on an extended rant on X in response to the film’s premiere, calling the filmmaker “gutless”, a “horrible human” and a “bitter old man who lost the plot long ago”, before sharing an image of Gibney with a poo emoji on his head and labelling it “an improvement”. Musk’s lawyer has also reportedly threatened to sue Gibney for defamation.
At the film’s Venice press conference, Gibney said, “There was a tremendous sense of fear of talking, really almost existential fear, both among people who were his critics, people who were his business colleagues and people who are his friends. I talked to many, many, many, many people who, except for some of the brave people here with me, declined to speak.”
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Among them was Ashley St Clair, the former conservative influencer, Musk’s ex-partner and the mother of one of his children. Asked why she agreed to be interviewed in , she spoke about the $40 million NDA she received from Elon after their relationship ended. (Musk responded by saying: “She was never offered that and has a history of making false claims”.) “When you’re offered something like that, it really causes a debate in your head about what your speech means and how valuable that is, and why do they want to offer me this amount of money to not speak?,” she told journalists. “And I believe Alex spoke to it a little bit about Elon’s unreality, and he does complicated relationships generally, but his most complicated relationship is with the truth. And so, I think most importantly, I want to set the example for my kids that you should never take being materially comfortable over speaking the truth.”
A woman took home the Golden Lion for only the eighth time in Venice’s history
Before this year, only seven women had received the Venice Film Festival’s top prize in : Margarethe von Trotta for Marianne and Juliane, Agnès Varda for , Mira Nair for , Sofia Coppola for , Chloé Zhao for , Audrey Diwan for , and Laura Poitras for . This edition of the festival had also been under fire for its lack of women directors in competition – only two, ’s May el-Toukhy and ’s co-director Rachel Szor, were in contention for this highest honour. Thankfully, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s jury recognised them both, with being awarded the Golden Lion and the third-place Special Jury Prize.
“Thank you to the jury for this great honour,” May el-Toukhy said to the assembled crowd at the closing ceremony. “And to you, Maggie, especially, for using your voice and shining a light on the lack of equal opportunities for female filmmakers in our industry.” She dedicated the prize to her teenage daughter, adding, “Compassion, community and courage. Those are the things you’ll need to finish what we and generations before us started. Get off your damn phone, look up, use your voice to speak up against dehumanisation, use your voice to speak for those who have been abandoned and silenced.”
Szor’s co-director, Yuval Abraham, also called for action when accepting the Special Jury Prize for . “It’s honestly not easy to stand here,” he said, in response to the standing ovation their win received. “I’m thinking of the Israeli politicians and journalists back home who are now attacking this film, denying it, without even seeing it. So much is being done to not look at reality. The reality is that, since this festival started, Israel killed six Palestinian children in Gaza at least. The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with told us how this mass killing is systemic, not by accident but by design. Actions of murder and policies that are based on total dehumanisation of Palestinians. This truth has been documented and is known from the very first day thanks to Palestinian journalists. More than 200 of them were killed by Israel in Gaza. Their voices were silenced and denied. We believe that denial of a crime is what helps it persist. It’s important that Israelis watch this film, it’s our country that is doing these crimes. But also that Europeans watch it, especially here in Italy, because your government and the German government are blocking pressure on Israel that can end this. That Americans watch it, because that country is funding much of the killing.”