The venice film festival schedule for 2026 is now underway, with the 83rd Venice International Film Festival running from September 2 through September 12 on the Lido in Venice, Italy. The official daily program is available for both public ticket holders and accredited festival participants, with screenings spread across multiple venues and sections throughout the 11-day event.
Venice Film Festival 2026 Dates
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival began Wednesday, September 2, and will conclude Saturday, September 12. The festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera.
The schedule covers competition films, out-of-competition titles, Orizzonti selections, Venice Spotlight, Venice Classics, Biennale College Cinema and Venice Immersive. Daily programs also include screenings associated with Giornate degli Autori and Settimana Internazionale della Critica.
For U.S. viewers following the event remotely, the dates are particularly useful because Venice screenings take place on Central European Summer Time. That means major premieres and evening events occur earlier in the day for audiences in the United States.
September 2: Opening Day
The festival officially opened on September 2 with its inauguration ceremony at the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido.
Danny Boyle’s Ink opened the competition. The film received its world premiere at the Sala Grande after the opening ceremony. It stars Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy and was directed by Boyle from a screenplay by James Graham.
The opening night also featured the presentation of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to George Clooney. The American actor, director and producer was honored during the opening ceremony.
The opening schedule established the rhythm for the rest of the festival. Major competition premieres take place alongside screenings from the festival’s other sections, giving audiences a full slate from morning through late evening.
September 3: Current Schedule
September 3 is the second full day of the festival and features a particularly broad selection of screenings.
The public schedule begins with a 9 a.m. screening of Tinto Brass’ Col cuore in gola (Deadly Sweet) in Venice Classics at Sala Casinò.
Other morning screenings include Al Baraneya by Ashgan El-Hamus at Sala Perla and John Cassavetes’ Minnie and Moskowitz at Sala Corinto.
The afternoon schedule moves into several festival sections. At 2 p.m., Everest: The Other Side, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, is scheduled in the Sala Grande as a Venice Open out-of-competition presentation.
The Orizzonti section also has a significant presence on September 3. A group of short films begins at 2:30 p.m. at the PalaBiennale, including Il senso della Terra, Angelo azzurro (My First Day of Summer), Mothmama, Una fortaleza, Bleu au loin (Distant Blue), Man made lake and Paper Plane.
The evening schedule turns toward prominent feature presentations. Werner Herzog’s Bucking Fastard is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Sala Grande as part of Venezia 83 Competition.
Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine follows with scheduled screenings at 7:30 p.m. in the Sala Grande and 8 p.m. at the PalaBiennale.
The day continues with Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing at 9 p.m. in the Sala Giardino. Gianni Amelio’s Nessun dolore closes the listed evening program with screenings at 10 p.m. in the Sala Grande and 10:30 p.m. at the PalaBiennale.
September 4 Through September 6
The schedule continues with competition premieres, special presentations and programs across Venice’s various sections.
The festival’s daily structure allows several strands to operate simultaneously. Audiences can choose between major competition titles, restored classics, emerging filmmakers, documentaries, short films and out-of-competition presentations.
The weekend also brings programming connected with the Venice Production Bridge. One important industry component is Final Cut in Venice, which runs September 6 through September 8. The initiative supports films from Africa and several Middle Eastern countries during post-production. Its screenings are restricted to industry pass holders.
September 6 also features a scheduled masterclass by French filmmaker Luc Besson. The session is set for 4 p.m. at the Match Point Arena on the Lido and is available to accredited participants, with a livestream provided through La Biennale’s website.
September 7 Through September 9
The middle portion of the festival maintains the same multi-section format.
On September 7, the public program includes Gael García Bernal’s Hombre al agua in Venice Spotlight, Daniel Zvereff’s Moonfish in Biennale College Cinema and a screening of La lunga notte del ’43 (Long Night of 1943) in Venice Classics.
September 8 includes The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias by Sophie Fiennes in Venice Open, Hiwar ma’ albahr (Conversation With The Sea) by Muayad Alayan in Venice Spotlight and other presentations across the festival’s sections.
September 9 continues with programs such as Alina Şerban’s Eu contez (I matter) in Venice Spotlight, Tsai Ming-liang’s Weichen (Dust) in Venice Open and the first part of Luca Guadagnino’s JOIE DE VIVRE project.
This part of the schedule is important for viewers trying to follow the competition because multiple sections are operating at the same time. Checking the official daily listing is therefore more reliable than relying on a simple chronological list of headline premieres.
September 10 and September 11
The final full days before the closing ceremony continue to feature screenings throughout the Lido.
On September 10, the published public program includes Kornél Mundruczó’s Place to be in Venice Open, Levan Koguashvili’s Guria in Venice Spotlight and the second part of Luca Guadagnino’s JOIE DE VIVRE.
These later dates are also significant because competition jurors are approaching the end of the viewing schedule. The Venezia 83 competition jury is chaired by filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal.
The festival’s official prizes will be announced on the closing night. The awards include the Golden Lion and other major prizes for the competition.
September 12: Closing Day
The 2026 festival concludes Saturday, September 12.
Greta Scarano and Nicolas Maupas are scheduled to host the closing ceremony, when the Lions and other official prizes will be announced. They also hosted the opening night on September 2.
The closing film is Giovanni Veronesi’s Dio ride. The out-of-competition film will have its world premiere in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema after the awards ceremony.
The film stars Pierfrancesco Favino, Silvio Orlando, Alma Noce, Francesco Gheghi, Maurizio Lombardi, Paolo Rossi and Carlo Cecchi. Its story is set in the mid-17th century and centers on themes involving freedom, truth and the relationship between people and power.
The September 12 public program begins much earlier than the closing ceremony. Morning screenings include Mariano Llinás’ Biografía de Jorge Luis Borges (Parts 1-2-3) and several Orizzonti short-film presentations.
How the 2026 Schedule Works
The official program is divided into separate daily listings, allowing visitors to select a date and view the individual screening times and venues.
For the public, screenings are available through ticketed admission when seats remain. The festival released the public screening schedule in advance and made online ticket sales available for the 2026 edition.
Accredited participants have a separate schedule and reservation system. Reservations opened in stages based on the screening dates, with different booking windows for the early, middle and final portions of the festival.
This distinction matters because a film can appear at a particular time for industry participants while having another public screening at a different venue or time.
Main Festival Sections in the Schedule
The official 2026 program includes several major sections:
- Venezia 83 Competition — the principal competition for feature films competing for the festival’s top awards.
- Venice Open – Out of Competition — major films presented outside the main competition.
- Orizzonti — a section focused on contemporary cinematic expressions and emerging filmmaking.
- Venice Spotlight — a selection of notable international films.
- Biennale College Cinema — projects connected with the Biennale’s filmmaking development program.
- Venice Classics — restored and historically significant films.
- Venice Immersive — the festival’s extended-reality section.
The schedule also includes short-film programs and presentations associated with Giornate degli Autori and Settimana Internazionale della Critica.
Venues and Screening Times
The schedule uses multiple venues across the Lido. Among the recurring locations are the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema, Sala Darsena, PalaBiennale, Sala Giardino, Sala Perla, Sala Corinto, Sala Casinò and Astra cinemas.
The Sala Grande carries some of the festival’s most prominent premieres. Other venues allow several sections to screen simultaneously, creating a dense daily timetable.
Public ticket prices also vary according to venue and screening time. The festival’s published information lists different prices for Sala Grande screenings at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight, while PalaBiennale screenings have their own pricing structure.
What U.S. Audiences Should Know
For viewers in the United States, the most important detail is the time-zone difference. Venice operates on Central European Summer Time during the festival, so screenings scheduled during the Italian afternoon or evening occur earlier in the day across U.S. time zones.
The daily schedule also changes substantially from one date to another. A viewer tracking a specific movie should check its individual listing rather than assuming that every film receives a single screening.
The official program is updated online and provides the most precise information for screening times, venues and ticket access.
Latest Status of the Festival Schedule
As of September 3, 2026, the Venice festival is in its second full day. The official schedule confirms that screenings are taking place across the Lido, with competition titles running alongside Orizzonti, Venice Classics, Venice Spotlight, Venice Open and other programs.
The event will continue through September 12, when the awards will be presented and Dio ride will receive its world-premiere screening as the closing film.
The current venice film festival schedule therefore spans a tightly packed 11-day program, beginning with Ink and ending with Dio ride. For audiences following the festival from the United States, the most useful approach is to track the official daily program because screening times and venues vary throughout the event.
The 2026 Venice schedule is now in motion, and the remaining days will determine which films emerge as the festival’s biggest winners and talking points.