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Murdoch and Musk in the crosshairs at Venice film festival
The Venice film festival's 83rd edition will open with Danny Boyle's Ink, a drama starring Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch during his 1969 acquisition of the Sun, and will also screen a four-hour Alex Gibney documentary on Elon Musk out of competition. The lineup, unveiled by artistic director Alberto Barbera, positions Venice's traditionally starrier programme as taking aim at powerful media figures from both the print and digital eras, while still courting Hollywood glamour.
Other highlights include Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine, starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA agents in Pinochet-era Chile, and Robert Pattinson leading A24's Primetime, inspired by To Catch a Predator. Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem star in Florian Zeller's Bunker, while Kate and Rooney Mara appear in Werner Herzog's first dramatic feature in seven years, Bucking Fastard. The festival, running from 2 September, will also host the Gallagher brothers for an Oasis documentary premiere and Russell Crowe for a film about his band, though the lineup features only one female director in competition.
In short
- Danny Boyle's Murdoch drama Ink opens Venice on 2 September
- Alex Gibney's four-hour Elon Musk documentary screens out of competition
- Only one female director features in this year's competition lineup
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A film festival's prestige carries responsibility to engage with consequential questions about power and accountability. Films examining figures like Murdoch and Musk contribute to important public discourse about media ownership and technological influence. Avoiding such subjects represents a choice that implicitly endorses the existing order rather than interrogating it.
The case against
A festival's primary purpose should be advancing cinematic artistry rather than serving as a platform for contemporary political commentary. Curating films specifically because they critique controversial figures, rather than on purely artistic merit, risks politicising an institution whose role should be celebrating cinema itself. The apparent selection for topical relevance and perceived controversy rather than for pure artistic innovation devalues genuine creative achievement.
Explained simply
The Venice Film Festival is one of the world's most prestigious annual cinema events, held each year in Venice, Italy. It is known for premiering significant films and attracting major talent from the film industry and beyond.
This year's festival will open with a film about Rupert Murdoch's 1969 acquisition of The Sun newspaper, and will also screen a substantial documentary about Elon Musk. Both figures are central to the history of media: Murdoch in the print era, Musk in the digital age. By programming these films prominently, the festival is highlighting stories about major media figures across different periods.
These stories matter because questions about media ownership and power are subjects of significant public debate. Understanding how major figures have shaped media organisations and platforms is relevant to understanding modern information structures and media systems.
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