The Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday with Danny Boyle's "Ink," a drama about how tabloid The Sun fuelled Rupert Murdoch's rise, launching 11 days of high-profile premieres that festival director Alberto Barbera has called the event's "most political" edition in recent years. Films addressing war, Palestine, immigration, climate change and shrinking political freedoms feature prominently, and controversy has already flared before the opening, including criticism from Ukrainian officials over the inclusion of Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky's "DAU" over alleged links to the Russian state. Despite a quieter presence from US studios and streamers this year, Venice remains a key launch pad for awards contenders and films seeking distribution deals.

Star-studded premieres lined up include "Ink" with Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy on 2 September; Robert Pattinson promoting "Primetime," in which he plays Chris Hansen, amid a dispute over an NDA the journalist refused to sign; and Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" with Sam Rockwell, alongside Werner Herzog's "Bucking Fastard" starring Orlando Bloom and the Mara sisters, both on 3 September. Later highlights include the Gallagher brothers attending the Disney+ Oasis documentary on 5 September, and Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem starring in Florian Zeller's "Bunker" and Alex Gibney's Elon Musk documentary "Musk," both premiering on 8 September, with Musk already dismissing the film as a "hit piece".