Venice 25

A beautifully mounted documentary-fable, The Tale of Silyan is an astute blend of environmental messaging and magical realism, all tightly structured and crafted to offer up an easy to watch (and economical) film that at times feels more like a genial folk tale than a movie with a hard-hitting eco message. That said, within Kotevska’s unique construction the whole thing works rather wonderfully.

The Dutch/Afghan filmmaker discusses his riveting new documentary, world-premiering in Venice, which immerses the audience in the daily lives of a young Taliban solider and his teenage brother. “My film depicts the effect of war on people,” says Amini. “Not only the war in Afghanistan, it's the war everywhere. War is not only destructive for cities, buildings, houses, hospitals and roads. It also destroys the souls of people generation after generation after generation.”

Crimea-born filmmaker Vladlena Sandu shares the award with Cyril Aris, director of the fiction feature A Sad and Beautiful World. Both films polled 77.4% within the audience vote. Memory, part of a series of films that Sandu has made about her own and her country’s past, depicts her harrowing childhood experiences in war-torn Chechnya.

An enthralling, illuminating and warm-hearted examination of the life and work of a woman who was self-aware of her image and abilities, but who defied the expectations of the tinsel town system, ultimately charting her own course away from the movie world.

Paris-based distributor Astrea has acquired international rights to the VR title A Long Goodbye, directed by Kate Voet & Victor Maes. The animated interactive film tells the story of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia, and will celebrate its world premiere in Venice Immersive competition. “A Long Goodbye is a poetic experience about the impact of dementia, but above all it is about love,” write the filmmakers.

Leading Argentine director Lucrecia Martel takes the plunge into documentary with her latest feature, a complex and hard-hitting story about the murder of an Indigenous community leader and the community’s subsequent fight for justice on his behalf. “It is very important to convey to young people that filmmaking and cinema can have a huge power,” Martel tells Business Doc Europe. “They can use it for good or bad reasons but it has a huge power - and I’ve never felt it so much as in this film.”

The 82nd Venice FF will host the first Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary. The winning doc will be selected based on its social importance, journalistic integrity, artistic creativity, and narrative disruption. Nominations include Kabul Between Prayers (Aboozar Amini), Nuestra Tierra (Lucrecia Martel), and Cover-Up by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus. The 82nd Venice FF runs August 27 to September 9.

US actress Kim Novak will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (La Biennale di Venezia), running 27 August to 6 September 2025. The award will coincide with the Venice world premiere of ‘Kim Novak’s Vertigo’, the new feature doc by writer-director Alexandre O. Philippe. The film is sold by Dogwoof who boarded the project at Cannes 2025.

The new prize was awarded September 6 during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The jury said, “Remake evokes exquisitely the pain of loss, and letting down those we love the most - but it also brings us to a deeper understanding of how grief expands and teaches us. It shows the power of candid storytelling on the healing process, and offers a new lens on how art can help us confront truth, and find solace.”

The Venice Film Festival unveiled July 22 the official line-up for its upcoming edition. Two Italian documentaries feature in Competition (incl Gianfranco Rosi’s Sotto le Nuvole), while 19 play Out of Competition. Nine docs are selected for Classics. This year, Alexander Payne will serve as the President of the Jury which also includes Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu, Mohammad Rasoulof, Fernanda Torres and Zhao Tao. The 82nd Venice FF takes place August 27 to September 6.