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Festival coverage

Venice Film Festival

29 August – 8 September 2018

First Man opened the festival
First Man opened the festival

The 75th edition of Venice Film Festival ran from August 29 to September 8. It opened with First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle, and closed with Nick Hamm's Driven.

Director Zhang Yimou received the Glory To The Filmmaker award and Vanessa Redgrave was honoured for lifetime achievement. The festival hosted a tribute to David Cronenberg, including a masterclass by the director.

Other years (10)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • The Nightingale
    Review preview for The Nightingale

    A film that looks back, that gazes also into you.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    A young convict in a penal colony seeks revenge.
  • What You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire?
    Review preview for What You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire?

    While content is important, it is context that is king in a documentary, and this film could do with a lot more of it to orient viewers, especially those who don't have a full working knowledge of the American South.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    The story of a community of black people in the American South during the summer 2017, when a string of brutal killings of black men sent shockwaves throughout the country.
  • The Mountain
    Review preview for The Mountain

    Kier, Goldblum, and Lavant are never less than fantastic in their portrayal of modes of crazed, unreliably self-assured masculinity.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
    A young man who was raised by his emotional stunted father goes to work with his mentor, a doctor who performs lobotomies and shock therapy.
  • Never Look Away
    Review preview for Never Look Away

    The blurring of fictionalisation is just one of the layers that encourages contemplation almost deep enough to justify the film's expansive canvas.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    A tormented young German artist who has fled to the west becomes convinced he has met the love of his life.
  • Charlie Says
    Review preview for Charlie Says

    The finest film of the year so far.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    Three women whose death sentences for the Manson murder case were commuted to life are taught by a graduate student, who witnesses their transformation.
  • Carmine Street Guitars
    Review preview for Carmine Street Guitars

    Becky Parsons and John M Tran's cinematography brings out every detail of the crowded rooms before us and puts us to close to the grain of the wood that we can almost smell it.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A shop resisting gentrification.
  • Sunset
    Review preview for Sunset

    Sunset while resisting the digital, flings us into a dreamworld where nostalgia for the past is twin to premonition of our future.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
    A young wannabe milliner in Budapest meets a man connected to her past and begins to uncover family secrets.
  • Amanda
    Review preview for Amanda

    We cry with Amanda and David and when the sun comes through again, their smiles are like a gift.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    A man assumes a new responsibility for his niece as a potential guardian.
  • Living The Light - Robby Müller
    Review preview for Living The Light - Robby Müller

    It's accessible for beginners yet provides a good deal for those with experience of such work to get their teeth into.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Documentary about the director of photography, featuring his personal archive.
  • The Quietude
    Review preview for The Quietude

    The sprawling house provides insight into Mia and Eugenia's personalities before we get to know them directly.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Drama about two sisters after they are reunited following their father's stroke.

A–Z of Venice Film Festival 2018 reviews

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