It was mere months ago that we found ourselves wrapped up in the Anora intimacy coordinator discourse, the collective gawks at The Brutalist‘s runtime, and the controversy that surrounded Karla Sofía Gascón (remember her?) in Emilia Perez. Well, guess what? With the lineup for the Venice Film Festival being announced, the race to the next Academy Awards has already started in the movie world. If that’s news to you, then you’re already a little bit behind.
Not by too much though. Intriguingly, we’ve started unusually slow in the first half of 2025, after a fairly shruggish collection of Oscar-hyped projects at Sundance and Cannes Film Festival. (Keep Sentimental Value, Sorry Baby, Train Dreams, and If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You on your watchlists—the international cinema carried those festivals instead.) But it looks like that will turn around starting next month, when celebrities and auteurs start showing up to Venice’s Lido arm-in-arm, ready to present their new projects. Some of these are expected to be big awards sweeps—think Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, and Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite. But for every heavy hitter, there’s a less obvious surprise, like documentaries quietly made by Sofia Coppola and Werner Herzog.
It’s a busy line-up with over 100 films. Here are just 19 we have our eye on.
After the Hunt (Luca Guadagnino)
Premiering out of competition, Guadagnino’s intense #MeToo campus drama stars Julia Roberts, Chloë Sevigny, and Ayo Edebiri. It follows a college professor whose career teeters on the edge when a student files a complaint—against someone else in her department.
Cover-Up (Laura Poitras)
The Oscar-winning director of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed returns with a secretly-filmed documentary about Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, known for his deep-dive reporting and reclusive persona.
Remake (Ross McElwee)
The cult documentary filmmaker returns after nearly 15 years with a deeply personal film exploring how the death of his son reshaped his world.
No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
Set in contemporary South Korea, Park’s new film follows a disgruntled paper merchant out for revenge after losing his job. It’s slated for a late 2025 release via Neon.
The Voice of Hind Rajab (Kaouther Ben Hania)
From the Oscar-nominated Tunisian director of The Man Who Sold His Skin comes a powerful and timely narrative based on the true story of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024.
Silent Friend (Ildikó Enyedi)
Starring Tony Leung in his European film debut, this lyrical drama is told from the perspective of a lonely tree in a botanical garden. Léa Seydoux co-stars.
The Testament of Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold)
Fastvold returns with a 70mm musical epic about the origins of the Shakers religious movement, starring Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, and Christopher Abbott.
Ghost Elephants (Werner Herzog)
While fans await Bucking Fastard, Herzog has quietly completed a documentary about rare elephants in the Angola jungle.
Marc by Sofia (Sofia Coppola)
Coppola pauses her narrative work to present a documentary on fashion designer Marc Jacobs—an intimate look at his life and legacy.
Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)
The king of Greek freak movies leans into full paranoia with this story about two conspiracy theorists who become convinced a corporate CEO, played by Emma Stone, is actually an alien.
Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)
Adam Sandler and George Clooney headline Baumbach’s latest, which centers on an aging actor and his longtime manager as they reflect on fame, family, and legacy.. Greta Gerwig, Baumbach’s wife, makes a brief appearance.
Father Mother Sister Brother (Jim Jarmusch)
Rumored to be an anthology film about a fractured family, Jarmusch’s latest features a star-studded cast: Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, Charlotte Rampling, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat.
Scarlet (Mamoru Hosoda)
The visionary director behind Belle and Mirai returns with a new anime fantasy about a princess who defies time and space.
A House of Dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)
The Zero Dark Thirty director delivers a large-scale, high-stakes film about a nuclear disaster unfolding in America.
The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie)
Could this be Dwayne Johnson’s Oscar moment? Safdie’s solo directorial effort tells the true story of wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr.
Girl (Shu Qi)
A Taiwanese acting legend, and a regular collaborator of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, makes her directorial debut with this mysterious, still-under-wraps feature.
The Wizard of the Kremlin (Olivier Assayas)
Based on the bestselling 2022 novel, this Putin origin story starsPaul Dano and Jude Law and marks a dramatic turn for the French auteur.
Rose of Nevada (Mark Jenkin)
This surreal sci-fi tale follows two men aboard a fishing boat that vanished 30 years ago—and reappears locked in a mysterious time loop. Starring Callum Turner and George MacKay.
Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)
Del Toro reimagines the classic tale with Jacob Elordi as a haunting (and possibly hot?) creature, alongside Oscar Isaac. Thank you, Del Toro, for your service!