Venice Critics’ Week 2026 unveils the full programme for its 41st edition

The Venice International Film Critics’ Week has unveiled the programme of its 41st edition. It will take place on the Venice Lido from 2 to 12 September 2026, during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.

The Italian National Union of Film Critics organises the independent section. It will present seven debut features in competition and two special events out of competition. Every title will screen as a world premiere.

General Delegate and Artistic Director Beatrice Fiorentino curated the programme. The selection committee also includes Matteo Berardini, Marianna Cappi, Francesco Grieco and Marco Romagna.

“Imagining the future. Resisting the present” defines this year’s direction. The films approach cinema as an act of responsibility and formal research. They also examine a world shaped by political, social and technological change.

Speaking with Chiara Nicoletti for FRED Film Radio, Fiorentino explained the selection principle. “We cannot shut ourselves inside a bubble and pretend not to see what is happening outside.”

Programming as a political choice

For Fiorentino, festival programming is never neutral. Images reflect the world in which they are produced. Therefore, choosing which stories to show also means taking a position.

“When you programme a festival, you encounter stories and images that mirror the world in which we live,” she said. “Choosing which stories should be shown becomes an act of responsibility.”

However, the final line-up also emerged through a fluid process. “You make programmes with the stories you encounter. The selection process is very dynamic,” Fiorentino noted. “At a certain point, the programme partly shapes itself.”

The political character of the selection concerns both content and form. “Every film is political,” she said. “We care deeply about language and formal research. We listened to political stories and tried to make the selection politically.”

The programme also includes several independent productions. Some were made with limited resources. Nevertheless, Fiorentino stressed their artistic precision and strong awareness of the medium.

Colombia, archives and historical memory

Two films represent Colombia. The End of Times, directed by Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas, combines family archives, colonial memory and artificial intelligence.

The film questions the need to generate new images in an already saturated world. “There is a declaration of image economy at the basis of the project,” Fiorentino explained. “Does it still make sense to shoot new images, or can cinema use those that already exist?”

A woman searches for the origins of her mother’s sadness. Gradually, that private investigation reveals the trauma of an entire country. “While looking for the reasons behind one woman’s suffering, the film discovers the roots of a people’s malaise.”

The second Colombian title is Meteorite by Sebastián Múnera. It follows two women through a landscape marked by violence. A theme park built on the ruins of Escobar’s empire stands beside a regional prison.

Bodies, technology and environmental crisis

Tunisia enters the competition with The H@llow Man by Kamel Laaridhi. The dystopian drama is set in 2059. In its world, a biochip controls memories and suppresses emotions.

“It is a form of para-science fiction,” Fiorentino said. “The future becomes a pretext for bringing present urgencies back into focus.” In the film, poetry becomes a defence against technological control.

Brazilian directors Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli present London. The queer drama explores disability, sexuality and self-determination. It also rejects reducing identity to a clinical diagnosis.

Meanwhile, Our Share of Sand by Shalini Adnani examines inequality and environmental exploitation. The India, United Kingdom and Greece co-production begins as a family drama. It then exposes a system shaped by silence, profit and sand extraction.

Italian masculinity and Generation Z

Italy competes with Before the War by Tommaso Usberti. The film is co-produced with France and set in the Po Valley.

Its protagonist grew up in a racist and misogynistic environment. He must confront a model of masculinity based on violence and emotional repression.

Fiorentino described it as “a film that feels both contemporary and ancient.” She also noted “a Pasolinian tragedy of bodies” and landscapes that recall the early Bernardo Bertolucci.

Zoom In, Zoom Out by Dong Jie represent China. The urban mystery combines online gaming, digital identity and alienation.

Fiorentino called it “a manifesto film for Generation Z.” She also described it as “an updated Blow-Up and L’Avventura for the age of online gaming.”

The Italian opening and closing films

The section will open with Giaffa the Great by Marco Santi. The cast includes Edoardo Pesce, Carlotta Gamba, Barbara Chichiarelli and Roberto Zibetti.

The protagonist is a socially invisible man. He is willing to alter his identity to be recognised.

According to Fiorentino, the film reflects “a completely schizophrenic society in which all points of reference have collapsed.” She added, “Being seen and finding a role in the system becomes more important than finding oneself.”

The closing film is Rider by Roan Johnson and Davide Pavanello. The rap musical features Levante, Rosa Chemical and Margherita Vicario.

“It was immediately striking,” Fiorentino said. “Even the spoken sections are in verse.” She compared its energy to an updated West Side Story.

The film addresses precarious labour, generational conflict and class divisions. “There is still a class conflict that nobody discusses anymore,” she said. “Yet it is far from resolved.”

SIC@SIC and the awards

The programme also includes the 11th edition of SIC@SIC, developed with Cinecittà. The Critics’ House will also return in a new location.

Competition titles will be eligible for the IWONDERFULL Grand Prize, the Audience Award and the Luciano Sovena Award. They will also compete for the Mario Serandrei Award and the Verona Film Club Award.

Eligible debuts will enter the race for the Lion of the Future, the Venice Award for a Debut Film.