What has gone down a storm in the opening week of Venice International Film Festival? Seamus McGarvey, Irish cinematographer of genius, will be pleased at the response to Theo Rollason’s Queer Edward II. Fully 36 years ago the Armagh man shot a wealth of documentary footage during the filming of Derek Jarman’s adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s play on that Plantagenet king. The new film counts as a glorious celebration of Jarman, a great among queer artists, and a moving snapshot of a divisive time in sexual politics.
Venice International Film Festival 2026: Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen in Primetime, directed by Lance Oppenheim
Robert Pattinson received raves for his turn as Chris Hansen, creator of the paedophile-hunter show To Catch a Predator, in Lance Oppenheim’s blotchy, properly seedy Primetime. The film struggles to find momentum, but, buoyed by an eccentric turn from the star, it works well as a gritty character study.
Venice International Film Festival 2026: Slavoj Zizek, the Slovenian philosopher, in The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias, directed by Sophie Fiennes
Produced by the Irish company Keeper Pictures with the support of Screen Ireland, Sophie Fiennes’ The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias saw the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek – host of two previous “Perverts” docs for the director – espouse eccentric views on screen works such as Melancholia, The Handmaid’s Tale and Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Zizek is unexpectedly styled as the lead female role in each of those pieces as he makes his address to camera.
Venice International Film Festival 2026: Jack Huston and Sofia Boutella in The Basics of Philosophy, directed by Paul Schrader
Lee Chang-dong arrived with a withering look at South Korea’s current economic discontents in the sprawling, deeply intelligent Possible Love. Hirokazu Kore-eda rebounded from the critical drubbing for his bizarre Sheep in a Box at this year’s Cannes with an exquisite film about two young manga artists called Look Back. Many hated Paul Schrader’s The Basics of Philosophy – Jack Huston as a lecturer with a past – but this critic had some time for the director’s latest man-in-a-room-writing-stuff flick.
Any vulgar Oscar tips? Pattinson could be up there for To Catch a Predator. John Malkovich will definitely be nominated for his role as a damaged CIA man in Martin McDonagh’s well-reviewed Wild Horse Nine – and could very well win. McDonagh is also not a bad bet for the Golden Lion at this event. We will know all following the closing ceremony on Saturday, September 12th.