Venice: Elisa's Jury of One

Elisa Giudici reporting from Venice...

[EDITOR'S NOTE: this was written shortly before the awards were handed so these are Elisa's feelings rather than comments on the winners.]

May el-Toukhy's WOMAN UNKNOWN won the Golden Lion but will it receive the same honor from Elisa's Jury of One?

Overall Festival Impressions

What a year to remember 2026 was for the oldest film festival in the world: arguably the best edition I have witnessed since I first attended with a press pass ten years ago, and the first in a very long time in which (helped by a particularly weak Cannes selection) Alberto Barbera was finally able to surpass Venice's natural competitor. In terms of overall cinematic quality, Venice eventually surpassed Cannes after years of trying to do so...

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Venice: "Wild Horse Nine" is an Instant Oscar Contender

Elisa Giudici reporting from Venice

WILD HORSE NINE © Searchlight

Two days into Venice, and the new Martin McDonagh movie already seems close to ending the competition for the Golden Lion. There are more than a few dark horses and wild cards waiting over the next ten days of the festival, but the enthusiastic applause at the end of the press screening and John Malkovich's immediate entrance into the Oscar conversation as a leading actor should give everyone a clear idea of just how strong and convincing the film is. Believe the hype: this is a very solid movie about male friendship (no surprise here) that really does not shy away from the political.

McDonagh will not be the last filmmaker arriving here at the Lido with a movie that is quintessentially his creature, "just" another version of his usual work. Nevetheless this one is written and directed with such control and cocksureness, that the result is impressive in its formal perfection...

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First Predictions: Adapted & Original Screenplays

by Nathaniel R

Four inspirations for 2026 movies: Mrs Dalloway becomes CLARRISA, The Unfaithful Wife becomes MINOTAUR, Rocky (1976) gets a making of bio with I PLAY ROCKY, and of course the bestseller turned blockbuster PROJECT HAIL MARY

As someone who never used to have writers block but who has it frequently now, I have a newly reinvigorated respect for fellow writers who perservere. That said, the screenwriters life can't be easy given the amount of script doctoring, star and director and studio "notes", multiple drafts, and anything else that can change an original concept or even an adapted one -- and what is the difference really in some cases? Cheers to anyone who sees anything they wrote up on screen, even if it's only partially their vision in the end. Let's look at some Oscar possibilities after the jump...

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