The Venice Film Festival line-up is stuffed to the gills with talent and exciting movies for 2025, solidifying its reputation as a natural home to films seeking the awards season spotlight. Ahead of reporting from the Lido, here are my picks as a film critic of just some of the movies I think scream Oscars material. But there’s so many to choose from, that many not officially included in the list deserve honourable mentions, such as Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s latest collaboration, Bugonia, and Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother, which stars Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver, among many others. Without further ado... (Picture: Ken Woroner/Netflix)

1. Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro returns to the gothic genre with his star-studded take on Mary Shelley’s classic creature feature for Netflix, starring Oscar Isaac as the eccentric titular doctor and Jacob Elordi as his unorthodox creation. Judging from del Toro’s past work with Crimson Peak and Pan’s Labyrinth, I’m confident he’ll bring the scares as well as a ghoulish style. Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth and Fantastic Four’s Ralph Ineson are also in the cast. He’s a revered filmmaker who has had past Oscars success with The Shape of Water – which won him both best picture and director – and 2022 stop-motion dark delight Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. I predict lavish period visuals, terror and some genuinely heartbreaking performances (Picture: Ken Woroner/Netflix)

2. The Wizard of the Kremlin

Jude Law will appear as a young Vladimir Putin in this upcoming political thriller from Olivier Assayas, based on a highly-regarded French novel – that’s Oscar bait enough. But the film’s premise is fascinating too, following the fictional Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano) on his journey from young artist in the 1990s to government spin doctor. Its supporting cast is an exciting one, with previous Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander, Jeffrey Wright, Zach Galifianakis and Tom Sturridge along for the intrigue. Assayas has thrilled French audiences and international critics alike previously with films such as Summer Hours and Something in the Air (a winner at Venice in 2012), but Clouds of Sils Maria in 2014 brought him to wider attention with its blockbuster international cast, including Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart. It feels like he’s overdue some attention from America’s Academy, and this could be the headline-grabbing film to do it (Picture: Getty)

3. Jay Kelly

Noah Baumbach has teamed up with Emily Mortimer to write this Netflix comedy drama about a successful actor going through an identity crisis. Said actor will be portrayed by previous Oscar winner and multiple nominee George Clooney, so I can already imagine how he could charm the pants off critics and voters alike – but he also has the chops to pull off vulnerability and deeper material. Netflix has one of its stalwarts in the cast as Adam Sandler plays Jay’s manager, travelling through Europe with the star in what is sure to be a curious pairing, while it truly is an embarrassment of riches in the ensemble cast: Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Isla Fisher, Jim Broadbent, Baumbach’s Barbie-directing wife Greta Gerwig and more. Baumbach has a great track record at the Oscars, receiving three separate writing nominations for Barbie, Marriage Story (which he also directed and received a best picture nod) and The Squid and the Whale (Picture: Peter Mountain/Netflix)

4. The Testament of Ann Lee

Not only is this based on the absorbing story of Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers religious movement in the 18th century, but it’s billed as a historical drama and musical. Starring Amanda Seyfried as the real-life figure referred to by her followers as the female representation of God, the cast also features Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, Tim Blake Nelson and Christopher Abbott. I’m already seated for this, but the final enticement is that it’s the next film from the writing pair Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, after The Brutalist took Venice and awards season by storm just last year. This time it’s Fastvold in the directorial chair, and I’m expecting big things (Picture: Reuters)

5. After the Hunt

Another to return to Venice for a second consecutive year is Luca Guadagnino, and his latest movie is likely to make even more noise than Queer, which starred Daniel Craig. In After the Hunt, Julia Roberts plays celebrated college professor Alm,a who must grapple with her own secretive past after her protégée Maggie (Ayo Edebiri) accuses her colleague Hank (Andrew Garfield) of assault. Guadagnino excels at examining relationships – as we learned from Challengers and Call Me By Your Name – and he’s reteamed with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the movie’s soundtrack. It’s Roberts’ first trip to the Lido and has the potential to be her juiciest role since her Oscar-winning turn in 2000’s Erin Brockovich (Picture: Yannis Drakoulidis/Amazon MGM Studios)

6. The Smashing Machine

This film puts Dwayne Johnson in a role he was born to play as former wrestling legend and MMA fighter Mark Kerr, allowing him to exercise both his wrestling muscles and his acting chops. The Smashing Machine could elevate Johnson to the awards circuit for the first time after his blockbuster movie success, with the support of his Oscar-nominated former Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt and the film’s writer and director Benny Safdie. It’s Safdie’s first film without brother and collaborator Josh, but the pair made waves previously with the likes of Good Times starring Robert Pattinson and 2019 crime favourite Uncut Gems with an arguably career-best turn from Adam Sandler (Picture: A24)