Venice International Film Festival
The world’s oldest film festival brings premieres, restored cinema, public audiences and the international film industry together on the Lido.
2026 dates
- Venue
- Festival campus centred on Palazzo del Cinema
- Where to plan around
- Lido di Venezia
- Access
- Public visitors can buy tickets for eligible screenings after the daily schedule is published online. Other screenings, Venice Immersive and most industry activity use separately regulated accreditation.
- Official information
- Visit La Biennale di Venezia ↗
The Banquet note
Asian cinema has a long institutional history at Venice. Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon won in 1951, followed across later decades by Golden Lions for filmmakers including Satyajit Ray, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Zhang Yimou, Tsai Ming-liang, Mira Nair and Jia Zhangke. For 2026, Maggie Gyllenhaal chairs the Venezia 83 jury with members including Johnnie To and Shahrbanoo Sadat. The official selection was announced in late July; Danny Boyle’s Ink opens the festival in competition on 2 September, with Venice Classics restorations and Venice Immersive projects already listed beside the main slate.
A public visitor should read the festival by section rather than by red carpet. Venezia 83 holds the main competition, Orizzonti introduces less familiar work, and Venice Classics makes film history unusually accessible on a contemporary festival schedule. The Venice Production Bridge explains how projects move through financing, rights and distribution, although its principal meetings require industry accreditation. Public tickets still provide serious access: the official 7 p.m. Sala Grande screening is reserved for the public, and formal attire there is recommended rather than compulsory.
Plan it well
Wait for the mid-August daily schedule before fixing a screening plan, then buy public tickets online at labiennale.org and arrive well before the ten-minute entry cutoff. Stay on the Lido for dense early and late screenings, or choose accommodation near a direct vaporetto stop in Venice. Recheck September ACTV service before travel.