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Venice Fest Faces Studio Pullbacks, EU Funding Cut, Lifetime Honors

7/23/2026

Summary

Studios Scale-Back

Warner Bros., Netflix and Disney are scaling back their Lido presence at Venice Festival, with Disney offering the ESPN documentary Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing.
Warner Bros. skips Digger and Dune: Part 3 while Netflix drops The Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Robert Pattinson, Russell Crowe, Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher are among the Lido’s stars.
George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn receive Golden Lion for lifetime achievement as Maggie Gyllenhaal chairs jury.

Summary

EU Withdraws Funding

The European Union withdrew $2.3 M in funding after the Venice Biennale invited Russia to its Art Biennale.
Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco said the institution will contest the EU cut in court.
May-el Toukhy’s *Woman Unknown* is the sole female-directed entry in the 20-film main competition.
The selection includes *Conversation With The Sea*, *Citizen Osama*, *Wild Asparagus* and *Road to Jericho*, which examine Palestinian experiences and Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Summary

Guadagnino Screens

Luca Guadagnino returns to Venice Lido to screen Joie De Vivre, a seven-hour documentary.
The film presents a worldwide portrait of Bernardo Bertolucci, expanding his 2013 essay work.
Joie De Vivre, at 435 minutes, ranks among the longest festival entries, earning Barbera’s description as extraordinary.
Guadagnino calls the film a very personal movie that emphasizes intimate reflections, providing an Italian-cinema tribute amid a lineup dominated by studio and political titles.

History

Historical Context

In May 1979 Cannes ran from 10 to 24 May, awarding the Palme d’Or jointly to Coppola’s *Apocalypse Now* and Schlöndorff’s *The Tin Drum* while writer Françoise Sagan chaired the jury. Earlier leadership shifts—Maurice Bessy’s 1972 selection reforms and Gilles Jacob’s 1978 introduction of the Caméra d’Or—show how the festival repeatedly adapts to political pressures, a pattern echoed in later protests and accreditation bans.

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Studios Scale-Back

Warner Bros., Netflix and Disney are scaling back their Lido presence at Venice Festival, with Disney offering the ESPN documentary Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing.
Warner Bros. skips Digger and Dune: Part 3 while Netflix drops The Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Robert Pattinson, Russell Crowe, Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher are among the Lido’s stars.
George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn receive Golden Lion for lifetime achievement as Maggie Gyllenhaal chairs jury.

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