Venice Film Festival 2025: Spotlight on Hungarian Talent
zita kisgergely
The 82nd Venice Film Festival has announced an impressive lineup of new features from several big-name directors, including two veterans from Hungary: Ildikó Enyedi and László Nemes.
One of the world’s oldest film festivals, and one of the “Big Five” worldwide (the others being Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance), the 82nd Venice Film Festival will run from August 27 to September 9, 2025, debuting exciting new features from world-renowned directors. Highlights include Guillermo del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN, Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA with Emma Stone, Luca Guadagnino’s AFTER THE HUNT, Kathryn Bigelow’s A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, Jim Jarmusch’s FATHER MOTHER SISTER with Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Charlotte Rampling, and Park Chan-wook’s NO OTHER CHOICE.
Additionally, esteemed Hungarian directors Ildikó Enyedi and László Nemes also have films screening in the main competition: Enyedi's SILENT FRIEND is a collaboration between Germany, France, and Hungary, while Nemes' ORPHAN is a joint effort between Hungary, the UK, Germany, and France.
Ildikó Enyedi
Ildikó Enyedi, celebrated for her thought-provoking and visually stunning films, is best known for her 2017 feature ON BODY AND SOUL which tells the story of a neurodivergent woman who finds love and connection through a shared dream with a colleague at an abattoir. The film won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Her 2021 film, THE STORY OF MY WIFE, is based on a novel by Milán Füst and follows a sea captain who becomes obsessed with his spouse despite his indifferent attitude towards marriage.
Born in 1955, Enyedi studied at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest after earning a B.A. in Economics. She won the Golden Camera award at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival for her film MY 20th CENTURY and received her doctorate from the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest in 2011.
Her sensitive and philosophical exploration of the human condition and our place in the world continues with her new feature to be presented in Venice, SILENT FRIEND. The story spans across three time periods in the 20th and 21st centuries, following the lives of individuals who are drawn to a tree located in a botanical garden in Marburg, Germany.
László Nemes
László Nemes, born Nemes Jeles László in 1977, is a Hungarian filmmaker and screenwriter who spent his formative teenage years in Paris. After studying History, International Relations and Screenwriting, Nemes worked as an Assistant Director in Hungary and France for various shorts and features, and for two years was Béla Tarr’s assistant while filming THE MAN FROM LONDON.
His first feature film, SON OF SAUL, premiered in main competition at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Grand Prix. The feature, which was also the second Hungarian film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, is the harrowing account of Saul, a Jewish prisoner working at an Auschwitz crematorium, determined to give a deceased young boy a proper Jewish burial. Nemes is also the first Hungarian director to have secured a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.
His second feature, SUNSET, is a period piece about a young woman who uncovers family secrets while trying to secure work at an illustrious hat company in Budapest during the last days of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1913.
Nemes’ third feature to be unveiled in Venice, ORPHAN, is also an historical drama, set in the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The story centres on a 12-year-old boy who is confronted by the truth of an idolized father he thought was dead.
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu will serve on the Competition Jury, led by Alexander Payne.
Here is the Venice Film Festival lineup for 2025:
In Competition
The Wizard of the Kremlin, dir. Olivier Assayas (France)
Jay Kelly, dir. Noah Baumbach (USA, UK, Italy)
The Voice of Hind Rajab, dir. Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia, France)
A House of Dynamite, dir. Kathryn Bigelow (USA)
Sun Rises on Us All, dir. Cai Shangjun (China)
Frankenstein, dir. Guillermo Del Toro (USA)
Elisa, dir. Leonardo Di Costanzo (Italy, Switzerland)
À pied d’œuvre, dir. Valérie Donzelli (France)
Silent Friend, dir. Ildikó Enyedi (Germany, France, Hungary)
The Testament of Ann Lee, dir. Mona Fastvold (UK)
Father Mother Sister Brother, dir. Jim Jarmusch (USA, Ireland, France)
Bugonia, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos (United Kingdom)
Duse, dir. Pietro Marcello (Italy)
Un film fatto per Bene, dir. Franco Maresco (Italy)
Orphan, dir. László Nemes (Hungary, United Kingdom, Germany, France)
The Stranger, dir. François Ozon (France)
No Other Choice, dir. Park Chan-wook (South Korea)
Sotto le nuvole, dir. Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)
The Smashing Machine, dir. Benny Safdie (Canada, USA, Japan)
Girl, dir. Shu Qi (Taipei)
La Grazia, dir. Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
Sources & further information:
82nd Venice Film Festival: Full list of films in competition.
Flatpack Films has years of experience servicing international brands, agencies, and production companies. Filming in Hungary is easy when relying on their knowledge of the market and ability to solve complex needs. They bring the best that Hungary has to offer in terms of unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top-of-the-line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more.
Get in touch and learn more about Budapest film locations, Hungarian film incentives, film tax credits in Hungary and how Flatpack Films can bring your project to life through a highly bespoke approach.