{
  "id": 4878772,
  "title": "Venice Film Festival turns to politics as Hollywood retreats",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/venice-film-festival-turns-to-politics-as-hollywood-retreats",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-01T14:19:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40437429/venice-film-festival-turns-to-politics-as-hollywood-retreats"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Venice Film Festival has shifted its focus to politics and social issues as Hollywood struggles with an industry crisis, according to festival director Alberto Barbera. Hollywood's withdrawal has made way for a lineup reflecting filmmakers' engagement with contemporary events, including the conflict in Gaza, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, billionaires' rise, and immigration enforcement in the United States. The festival, which runs from September 12 to September 12, traditionally marks the start of the awards season. However, many of the studio-backed Oscar contenders, once a staple of the festival, are absent this year, similar to their absence at Cannes in May. Barbera attributes the industry crisis to Hollywood's production costs, with some movies proving to be commercial disasters. The festival will still draw star power, with George Clooney, Ellen Burstyn, Robert Pattinson, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, John Malkovich, and Rooney Mara set to receive lifetime achievement awards. British rock stars Liam and Noel Gallagher will appear for the premiere of a documentary about Oasis. The 2026 programme includes films from renowned directors such as Martin McDonagh, Florian Zeller, Danny Boyle, and Werner Herzog, who are all vying for the Golden Lion Award. The festival opens with Boyle's \"Ink,\" a drama about Rupert Murdoch's 1969 takeover of Britain's The Sun tabloid, which is tipped as an Oscar hopeful. Barbera also highlighted the increasing number and quality of documentaries, noting that they deal with contemporary issues such as war, migration, climate change, and democratic strain. Notable documentaries include Alex Gibney's portrait of Elon Musk and Laura Poitras and Rachel Mueller's \"They're Here,\" which focuses on ICE raids on immigrants in Minnesota. The war in Gaza is particularly prominent, with films such as the Israeli duo Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor's \"NAZA,\" which examines Palestinian civilian deaths, being selected for the festival. The festival's position is clear in addressing the conflict.",
  "summary": "VENICE: Hollywood is struggling with an industry crisis and has largely withdrawn from this year’s Venice Film Festival, making way for a programme steeped in global politics and social upheaval, the event’s director said on Tuesday. Festival director Alberto Barbera said the gritty line-up reflected filmmakers’ growing engagement with contemporary events, ranging from the conflict in Gaza and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}