The 2025 Venice Film Festival was packed with ambitious films: mind-bending sci-fi (Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia), lavish Gothic epics (Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein), sharp dark comedies (Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice), bold 18th-century musicals (Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee), and a powerful Gaza-set drama with global impact (Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab). This made the jury’s job—led by Alexander Payne and including members like Fernanda Torres, Mohammad Rasoulof, and Maura Delpero—especially challenging when it came to choosing the top awards.
Heading into the closing ceremony, which featured a moving standing ovation for the late national treasure Giorgio Armani, the frontrunners included the films and directors mentioned above, as well as actors like Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee), Jesse Plemons (Bugonia), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Lee Byung-hun (No Other Choice), Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine), and the polarizing Julia Roberts (After the Hunt), all seen as strong contenders for the Volpi Cups for Best Actor and Actress. A win here would naturally give a major boost ahead of awards season.
The actual winners, however, came as quite a surprise—most notably, industry legend Jim Jarmusch taking the Golden Lion out of nowhere for his deliberately understated three-part family comedy, Father Mother Sister Brother.
Below is the full list of winners:
Main Competition
Golden Lion: Father Mother Sister Brother, Jim Jarmusch
Grand Jury Prize: The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben Hania
Special Jury Prize: Sotto le nuvole, Gianfranco Rosi
Silver Lion for Best Director: Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Xin Zhilei, The Sun Rises on Us All
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Toni Servillo, La Grazia
Best Screenplay: À pied d’œuvre, Valérie Donzelli and Gilles Marchand
Marcello Mastroianni Award for emerging performer: Luna Wedler, Silent Friend
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: Werner Herzog and Kim Novak
Orizzonti
Best Film: En el Camino, David Pablos
Best Director: Anuparna Roy, Songs of Forgotten Trees
Special Jury Prize: Hara Watan, Akio Fujimoto
Best Actress: Benedetta Porcaroli, Il Rapimento di Arabella
Best Actor: Giacomo Covi, Un Anno di Scuola
Best Screenplay: Hiedra, Ana Cristina Barragán
Best Short Film: Without Kelly, Lovisa Sirén
Venice Spotlight
Armani Beauty Audience Award: Calle Málaga, Maryam Touzani
Lion of the Future
Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film: Short Summer, Nastia Korkia
Venice Classics
Best Documentary on Cinema: Mata Hari, Joe Beshenkovsky and James Smith
Best Restored Film: Bashu, the Little Stranger, Bahram Beyzaie
Venice Immersive
Venice Immersive Achievement Prize: The Long Goodbye by Victor Maes and Kate Voet
Special Jury Prize: Less Than 5gr of Saffron by Négar Motevalymeidanshah
Grand Prize: The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up by Singing Chen and Shuping Lee
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of helpful and clear FAQs about the winners of the 2025 Venice Film Festival presented in a natural conversational tone
FAQs 2025 Venice Film Festival Winners
Q Who won the top prize the Golden Lion at the 2025 Venice Film Festival
A The Golden Lion for Best Film was awarded to directed by
Q What are the main award categories at Venice
A The most prestigious awards are
Golden Lion Best Film
Grand Jury Prize The secondmost prestigious award
Silver Lion Best Director
Volpi Cups Best Actor and Best Actress
Special Jury Prize Often for a bold or innovative film
Marcello Mastroianni Award For an emerging young actor or actress
Q When and where was the 2025 festival held
A The 82nd Venice International Film Festival was held from August 27 to September 6 2025 on the Lido di Venezia in Venice Italy
Q Ive never heard of the winning director Is that normal
A Absolutely Venice is famous for celebrating both established masters and discovering brilliant new talent from around the world Its common for a relatively unknown director to win a major award
Q Where can I watch the winning films
A After the festival winning films are typically picked up by distributors They will eventually be released in theaters on streaming platforms or on videoondemand services Keep an eye on entertainment news for release announcements
Q Why is winning at Venice such a big deal
A Venice is one of the Big Three most prestigious film festivals in the world A win here generates massive critical buzz helps secure international distribution and is often a strong early indicator for future awards like the Oscars
Q Who decides the winners
A A specially selected international jury of acclaimed filmmakers actors and industry professionals The 2025 jury was presided over by