Giovanni Veronesi's "Dio Ride" ("God Laughs") has been confirmed as the closing film of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, which runs from 2 to 12 September 2026. Screening out of competition, the film marks a high-profile finale for the festival, produced in collaboration with Netflix alongside Indiana Production, Piperfilm and Ogi Film, and festival director Alberto Barbera praised its blend of irony and lightness applied to serious themes.

Set in 17th-century Tuscany, the comedy-drama follows a friar, Frate Leopoldo, whose humorous way of speaking about God draws hostility from the Church, in a story loosely based on true events that the festival says resonates with contemporary questions of truth, freedom and power. The cast includes Pierfrancesco Favino, Silvio Orlando, Alma Noce, Francesco Gheghi, Maurizio Lombardi, Paolo Rossi and Carlo Cecchi, with Veronesi co-writing the screenplay alongside Nicola Baldoni, Gianluca Bernardini and Nicola Deorsola. The film is set for Italian theatrical release on 29 October 2026 via PiperFilm, with Piperplay handling international sales.