Venice Critics’ Week Unveils 2026 Selection With Films From Colombia, China & Tunisia
Venice International Critics' Week has announced the line-up for its 41st edition, revealing seven feature films in competition and two screening out of competition. Organised by the Union of Italian Film Critics and dedicated to emerging filmmakers, the sidebar to the main Venice Film Festival highlights a notably international selection this year, with Colombia particularly well represented through two works exploring the country's history of violence and colonialism.
The competition line-up includes Colombian entries The End of Times and Meteorite, Tunisian director Kamel Laaridhi's dystopian drama The H@llow Man, Brazilian duo Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli's debut London, Chilean-Indian filmmaker Shalini Adnani's Our Share of Sand, Italy's Prima della Guerra by Tommaso Usberti, and Chinese director Dong Jie's Zoom In, Zoom Out. Marco Santi's noir Il grande Giaffa, starring Edoardo Pesce, will open the section out of competition, while musical Rider closes it. The 41st Venice Critics' Week runs from 2 to 12 September on the Venice Lido alongside the 83rd Venice Film Festival, and has previously launched the early careers of directors including Mike Leigh, Olivier Assayas and Pedro Costa.
In short
- Venice Critics' Week reveals 2026 line-up of seven competition films
- Colombia, Tunisia, China and Brazil feature strongly this year
- Runs 2–12 September alongside the main Venice Film Festival
Explained simply
Venice Critics' Week is an annual film festival section that runs alongside the main Venice Film Festival in Italy each September. It is run by the Union of Italian Film Critics and focuses on discovering and promoting emerging filmmakers rather than established directors.
The section has earned a reputation as an important early launching pad for international cinema. Renowned directors including Mike Leigh, Olivier Assayas and Pedro Costa screened early films here before their careers gained wider recognition.
Each year the Critics' Week selects a small number of films from around the world that represent fresh directorial voices and new storytelling approaches. The festival values cinema that offers unconventional perspectives or explores important themes through emerging talent.
Asia Elections Entertainment Film Politics World