10 h. ago ‘Humanity is facing a reckoning’: Venice shrugs off the glamour to take aim at politics

Stars waved as usual from the city’s water taxis, but there was a repeated focus on films that help audiences interpret a chaotic worldFor most of its 82 years, Venice has been perceived as the world’s most glamorous film festival. This year was no exception: stars including Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Jude Law and George Clooney dutifully waved from canals and trooped down red carpets (although Law tripped while on a water taxi and Clooney got ill).But the films themselves struck a different note. Jury president Alexander Payne may have rebutted questions about current affairs during his opening press conference, declaring himself concerned only with discussing cinema, but cinema at Venice this year was concerned largely, it turned out, with discussing current events. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Meet your descendants – and your future self! A trip to Venice film festival’s extended reality island

A flourishing lineup of immersive storytelling experiments are taking visitors into novels, nightclubs and outer spaceIn the largest cinema at the Venice film festival, guests gather for the premiere of Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro’s lavish account of a man who dared to play God and created a monster. When the young scientist reanimates a dead body for his colleagues, some see it as a trick while others are outraged. “It’s an abomination, an obscenity,” shouts one hide-bound old timer, and his alarm is partly justified. Every technological breakthrough opens Pandora’s box. You don’t know what’s going to crawl out or where it will then choose to go.Behind the main festival venue sits the small ruined island of Lazzaretto Vecchio. Since 2017, it’s been home to Venice Immersive, the event’s groundbreaking section dedicated to showcasing and supporting XR (extended reality) storytelling. Before that it was a storage facility, before that a plague quarantine zone. Eliza McNitt, this ...

Culture

16 h. ago Lingerie model tennis star makes shock return home after 'fleeing for alleged tax evasion'

Camila Giorgi was a surprise guest at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival over the weekend, just months after the former tennis star was accused of tax evasion

Events

35 h. ago The Voice of Hind Rajab review – docufiction is fierce, vehement and heart

In an audacious move, director Kaouther Ben Hania reconstructs the killing of the five-year-old in Gaza using her real voice as she is bombarded by the Israeli armyThere can be no doubt about which movie has set the Venice film festival ablaze – it is this one, from Tunisian film-maker Kaouther Ben Hania. The Voice of Hind Rajab is about the horrifying ordeal of the five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed in 2024 by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza in her uncle’s car along with six family members, and two paramedics who tried to come to her rescue. Rajab herself, who survived the original assault by the IDF which killed those around her, stayed on the phone for hours to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), desperately begging for help. With startling audacity, Ben Hania has used the real audio recording of Rajab’s heart-wrenching voice, while fictionally reconstructing the drama of the emergency responders in their call-centre office, with real people ...

Politics

35 h. ago Kim Novak's emotional return to the spotlight at Venice Film Festival

Kim Novak has made an emotional return to the spotlight at 92

Culture

36 h. ago A House of Dynamite review: The most exciting movie at Venice Film Festival could lead to Kathryn Bigelow's second Best Director Oscar, writes BRIAN VINER

How might the United States respond in the event of a nuclear attack, with less than 20 minutes before an incoming missile lands on Chicago? 

Culture

38 h. ago Jason Momoa disguises his 'ugly' feet with bright pink nail polish at In the Hand of Dante premiere

The US actor, 46, wore a light pink suit on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday

Politics

39 h. ago All the best looks from Venice Film Festival 2025: Greta Lee, Rooney Mara, Emma Stone

The stars are pulling out all the stops with their Venice style for 2025

Culture

44 h. ago When did reality dating shows become as hellish as the real thing?

As the BBC launches its new series ‘Stranded on Honeymoon Island’, Ellie Muir looks at how ‘no distraction’ reality dating shows pander to a societal disappointment with modern romance, but have fallen into the trap of becoming as repetitive and boring as the apps they’re trying to help us escape from

Politics

49 h. ago Jason Momoa makes bold fashion statement as he struts on the red carpet with pink pedicure and matching sandals for In The Hand Of Dante Venice Film Festival premiere

Jason Momoa made a bold fashion statement in head-to-toe pink as he attended In The Hand Of Dante's Venice Film Festival premiere on Wednesday.

Culture

52 h. ago Viewers slam BBC's new dating show as they compare it to Married At First Sight

Davina McCall is back on screen tonight with her new series Stranded on Honeymoon Island but fans were quick to compare it to a similar reality show already on the air

Politics

54 h. ago Ukrainian teenagers dubbed the 'children of heroes' are given a break from the hell of war thanks to the generosity of kind Daily Mail readers

Many of these youngsters have lost a parent fighting off Putin's brutal invasion. Now Daily Mail readers have helped pay for a precious trip to Britain for trauma therapy - and hope for their futures

Events

63 h. ago A House Of Dynamite leaves critics in awe with 'horrifically gripping and unsettling' nuclear war scenes dubbed 'more terrifying than most horror films'

The American political thriller premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 2 and will land on Netflix on October 24.

Events

64 h. ago Stranded on Honeymoon Island contestant felt 'dirty' after BBC show's 'extreme' conditions

BBC's latest reality TV show Stranded on Honeymoon Island sees contestants left to fend for themselves after marrying a stranger

Culture

65 h. ago BBC's Stranded on Honeymoon Island launch date, full cast and how to watch

Stranded on Honeymoon Island is the BBC's latest reality dating show, which sees singletons left to fend for themselves on a tropical island

Politics

66 h. ago Stranded on Honeymoon Island start time, cast, host and how to watch BBC reality show

New dating show Stranded on Honeymoon Island is due to launch on BBC. Here's everything you need to know...

Politics

69 h. ago In the shattering ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab,’ the story of a 6

Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania's” The Voice of Hind Rajab” is debuting at the Venice Film Festival Wednesday

Politics

69 h. ago Russian cinema full of fairytales and propaganda, says Ukrainian film

Alexander Rodnyansky reflects on shift in Russian film as his documentary Notes of a True Criminal screens in VeniceThe Ukrainian film-maker Alexander Rodnyansky was once at the very centre of Russia’s cultural life. Over two decades he ran one of Russia’s biggest media conglomerates, produced some of the most celebrated films in recent Russian history – including the Oscar nominees Leviathan and Loveless – and helped bring Russian cinema to international prominence.But since the invasion of Ukraine, Rodnyansky said, he has witnessed a huge shift in Russian cinema. “The most popular genre in Russian cinema today is fairytales,” the 64-year-old told the Guardian. “They adapt all the stories we grew up with. There’s no single social drama, no movie reflecting life during the war. Continue reading...

Culture

69 h. ago Russian cinema has shifted to fairytales and propaganda, says Ukrainian film

Alexander Rodnyansky reflects on changes in Russian industry as his Notes of a True Criminal screens in VeniceThe Ukrainian film-maker Alexander Rodnyansky was once at the very centre of Russia’s cultural life. Over two decades he ran one of Russia’s biggest media conglomerates, produced some of the most celebrated films in recent Russian history – including the Oscar nominees Leviathan and Loveless – and helped bring Russian cinema to international prominence.But since the invasion of Ukraine, Rodnyansky said, he has witnessed a huge shift in Russian cinema. “The most popular genre in Russian cinema today is fairytales,” the 64-year-old told the Guardian. “They adapt all the stories we grew up with. There’s no single social drama, no movie reflecting life during the war. Continue reading...

Culture

3 d. ago 90 is the new 40! As Kim Novak steps back into the spotlight at 92 the nonagenarian legends who are proving that age is just a number

Kim Novak was back in the spotlight this week with her appearance at the Venice Film Festival. And she isn't the only nonagenarian still enjoying her decades in showbiz.

Politics