Veronesi’s Dio Ride to close Venice festival with Netflix backing
Developed over time first seen 3 months ago
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.
- Sources
- 3
- Outlets
- 3
- Left · Centre · Right
- 0 · 0 · 0
In short
- "Dio Ride" will close Venice Film Festival on 12 September 2026
- 17th-century comedy-drama stars Pierfrancesco Favino, made with Netflix
- Italian cinema release set for 29 October 2026
How this story developed
- 3 months ago Coverage expanded further to pin the closing-night screening to 12 September and to spell out the full distribution picture, with PiperFilm handling Italian release on 29 October and Piperplay managing sales abroad, alongside a fuller account of Barbera's remarks on the film's blend of irony and lightness.
- 3 months ago Organisers formally confirmed the closing-film slot for "Dio Ride" and added fresh detail on its screenplay credits, naming Nicola Baldoni, Gianluca Bernardini and Nicola Deorsola as co-writers alongside Veronesi and identifying Favino's character as Frate Leopoldo, while noting Piperplay would handle international sales.
- 3 months ago The 83rd Venice Film Festival announced that Giovanni Veronesi's "Dio Ride", starring Pierfrancesco Favino and Silvio Orlando, will close the 2–12 September 2026 event out of competition, shortly after revealing Danny Boyle's "Ink" as its opener.
Explained simply
The Venice International Film Festival is one of the world’s oldest and most prominent film events. It takes place each year on the Lido, an island in Venice, and brings together new films, filmmakers, actors and distributors from many countries.
Giovanni Veronesi is an Italian director and writer known for films that often mix comedy with more serious subjects. “Dio Ride” is set in 17th-century Tuscany and centres on a friar whose way of talking about religion puts him at odds with Church authorities.
Netflix is a global streaming company that also finances and produces films for cinemas and its service. Its involvement reflects the growing role of streaming firms in major film festivals, where screenings can raise a film’s profile before release.
Coverage · 3 sources
Celebrity Entertainment Europe Film World
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Variety as “Giovanni Veronesi’s ‘Dio Ride’ to Close Venice Film Festival”.