On the ground at the 81st Venice Film Festival, the main topic of conversation was the sweltering heat—blazing sunshine and a uniquely Venetian humidity which left me, like all the other journalists squeezed onto the water buses heading for the Lido, drenched head to toe in so much sweat every day that I looked like I’d just been fished out of the lagoon. Still, it was difficult to complain: the red carpet sizzled too, as did the official selection, packed as it was with headline-grabbing blockbusters and hotly anticipated arthouse gems. After a sleepy and sombre 2023 edition curtailed by strikes, the historic showcase was clearly overcompensating—and the result, on the whole, was pretty fabulous. Here are all the moments you might have missed from the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
Stars returned to the Lido en masse
Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder delivering goth glam at the premiere of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; Angelina Jolie embodying the spirit of enigmatic diva Maria Callas as she stepped off her water taxi; Cate Blanchett shutting down the red carpet in jewel-strewn Armani; Hoyeon’s joyous festival debut; Nicole Kidman’s glorious beaded Schiaparelli; Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton in clashing metallics; Sienna Miller’s canny style pivot; Lady Gaga’s vision-obscuring Philip Treacy headpiece—everywhere you turned in Venice, there was a (usually Oscar-winning) industry power player debuting a splashy new release.
It inspired a level of hysteria that was certainly missing from last year’s edition—and was perhaps best encapsulated by the utter pandemonium which accompanied the premiere of George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s Wolfs. The crime romp hit screens over half an hour late, given the unprecedented fan frenzy in the theater as the stars greeted attendees, took selfies, and signed autographs to deafening cheers before taking their seats. The film only received a four-minute standing ovation—strikingly short by Venice’s usual standards—though this was mainly because festival officials were reportedly keen to clear the room as quickly as possible, following the delayed start time. I got a taste of that feverish excitement myself earlier in the day, when, while waiting for the vaporetto back to St Mark’s Square, I heard ear-piercing screams. Had someone fallen into the water? No, it was Brad and George sailing away on their water taxi, waving to the crowd. Fair enough.
Amal Clooney stole the show
But, it wasn’t George Clooney who ultimately won Venice—to absolutely no one’s surprise, it was his wife, Amal. If Bella Hadid was the belle of the ball at Cannes without having a single movie to promote, the radiant human rights lawyer was her Venetian equivalent: she arrived in Italy, for dinner at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como, in sequined Chanel; had an audience with Apple CEO Tim Cook in an ethereal slip dress; hit the ground in Venice in an eye-popping yellow mini; stunned in mermaid-like Bach Mai (accessorized with a glossy, Sophia Loren-inspired blowout, obviously); and opted for another slinky slip, this time in classic black, for date night. Then, she went all-out for the Wolfs premiere in lemon-coloured Versace—complete with a train which required a dedicated fluffer—and continued her high-fashion streak by heading to the airport in an elegant tangerine jumpsuit. Bellissima.
Power couples were the talk of the town
That aforementioned date night—where George and Amal were joined by Brad Pitt and his new girlfriend, Inés de Ramón—grabbed headlines, as did Lady Gaga’s arrival with a stonking great big engagement ring and her fiancé Michael Polansky in tow. The pair made their red-carpet debut at the Joker: Folie à Deux premiere, for which Mother Monster chose voluminous Dior and a showstopping hat. Elsewhere, Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci looked cozy at the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice premiere, Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz kissed and held hands at the premiere of Queer, and Louis Partridge and Olivia Rodrigo made hearts melt with their adorable PDA. Across the week and a half, love was very much in the air.
The internet boyfriends were out in force
Alongside Partridge, the festival drew a string of other young heartthrobs who proved to be scene-stealers in their respective projects: Outer Banks’s Drew Starkey, who is magnetic as Daniel Craig’s mysterious love interest in Queer; Harris Dickinson, who seduces Nicole Kidman with relish in Babygirl; and Nicholas Hoult, who is a worthy opponent for Jude Law in the true-crime thriller The Order. We certainly weren’t complaining.
Septuagenarians triumphed
Jury president Isabelle Huppert, 71, brought French insouciance to proceedings with Balenciaga track pants before upping the ante in Armani Privé; Sigourney Weaver, 74, collected her Golden Lion for lifetime achievement in glittering Chanel; and everyone from the 77-year-old Patti Smith to the 70-year-old Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Catherine O’Hara demonstrated that there was no age limit on having an absolute ball on the red carpet. However, the ultimate proof that this edition of the festival belonged to septuagenarians came at the very end of the showcase, with Spanish master Pedro Almodóvar scooping his first competitive Golden Lion at the age of 74, for The Room Next Door, five years after collecting his own Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Bravo.
Taylor Russell delivered
If there was one younger starlet who made a real impact, though, it was surely the 30-year-old Canadian, who dazzled in Schiaparelli, Loewe, Alaïa, and vintage John Galliano and Chanel while serving on the jury for the festival’s debut film prize. With industry veterans largely playing it safe, she was a welcome addition on the fashion front.
The biggest films proved the most divisive
Once screenings kicked off, the festival’s 2024 slate provoked endless debate amongst critics: most people seemed to agree that Angelina Jolie’s transformation into the revered soprano Maria Callas was remarkable, though Maria as a whole proved trickier to embrace; many fell head over heels for the sprawling, ambitious The Brutalist, while others, like me, were sniffier about its second half; and the likes of Babygirl, Queer, The Room Next Door, and Joker: Folie à Deux all received reviews that ranged from glowing to utterly disparaging. It made for an exciting week of moviegoing, with many a screening ending with a mix of enthusiastic applause and shouted boos.
The standing ovations got slightly out of hand
Speaking of the applause, Angelina Jolie wept through the eight-minute standing ovation for Maria on the second day of the festival, but it was nothing compared to what would come next: 12 minutes for The Brutalist and then a whopping 17 minutes for The Room Next Door. It sparked a renewed interest in the admittedly baffling practice, with many declaring that it had now, finally, gotten out of hand.
The war in Gaza wasn’t entirely forgotten
At the start of the festival, around 300 filmmakers signed an open letter to the showcase which opposed the inclusion of two Israeli films on the line-up, Of Dogs and Men and Why War, for allegedly being “complicit” with the Israeli regime. The filmmakers behind both projects denied the claim, and the releases were screened as planned. After that, the issue seemed to be all but forgotten—that is, until the awards ceremony on the festival’s final night, when it was raised in a number of winners’ speeches.
As she accepted the Luigi de Laurentiis prize for best first film for Familiar Touch, director Sarah Friedland said: “As a Jewish American artist working in a time-based medium, I must note, I’m accepting this award on the 336th day of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and 76th year of occupation. I believe it is our responsibility as filmmakers to use the institutional platforms through which we work to redress Israel’s impunity on the global stage. I stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and their struggle for liberation.” Loud applause followed. Her comments were echoed by her lead actor, Kathleen Chalfant, who took home the Orizzonti best actress prize, adding that she hoped people in the region would soon be able to “live in peace, freedom, and justice.”
Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti also used his speech to take a stand, after winning the Orizzonti best screenplay award for Happy Holidays. “I stand here deeply honored, yet profoundly affected by the difficult times we’re living through,” he said. “Over the past 11 months, our shared humanity and moral compass have been tested as we witness the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This painful reality reminds us of the devastating consequences of oppression, which is a theme in our film. Our film looks at how moral narratives can bring us together as communities, but also blind us to the suffering of others.”
The festival ended with surprises and tears
The Brutalist and Dea Kulumbegashvili’s intimate, critically acclaimed drama April emerged as the frontrunners for the Golden Lion as the festival entered its final day—but then Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door snagged it from right under their noses. Thankfully, April did at least leave with the third place Special Jury Prize and The Brutalist the best director prize for Brady Corbet, respectively. Meanwhile, Maura Delpero’s Vermiglio took the second place Grand Jury Prize; Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, the best screenplay prize for I’m Still Here; and Vincent Lindon, the Volpi Cup for best actor for The Quiet Son.
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Then there was Nicole Kidman, who received the Volpi Cup for best actress for Babygirl, but was unable to attend the ceremony following the sudden death of her mother. Kidman’s director, Halina Reijn, accepted the award on her behalf and read out a statement from the actor. “Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after that my beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, has just passed,” it said. “I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her. She shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. I’m beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken.” It made for a gut-wrenching end to a festival which has been something of an emotional rollercoaster.
