The Venice Film Festival masterclasses will bring George Clooney, Ellen Burstyn, Luc Besson, Chloé Zhao, Łukasz Żal and Luca Guadagnino to the Lido during the 83rd edition, which runs from September 2 to 12, 2026. The sessions are free, but only for accredited guests, and the venue holds 250 people. Cinema remains open to everyone, provided everyone has the correct badge and arrives before the chairs disappear.

When are the masterclasses taking place?

All five sessions will be held at the Match Point Arena, opposite the Hotel Excelsior. Admission requires festival accreditation, but no reservation is needed.

The schedule is:

  • September 3 at 4 p.m.: George Clooney
  • September 4 at 3:30 p.m.: Chloé Zhao in conversation with cinematographer Łukasz Żal
  • September 6 at 4 p.m.: Luc Besson
  • September 7 at 3:30 p.m.: Luca Guadagnino
  • September 8 at 4 p.m.: Ellen Burstyn

Critics Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan and Mauro Gervasini, along with music specialist Stéphane Lerouge, will moderate the talks.

The festival’s detailed program specifically lists the Clooney, Besson and Burstyn events for livestreaming. It does not give the same streaming designation to the Zhao-Żal or Guadagnino sessions, despite an earlier report suggesting that every talk would be available online. Anyone hoping to watch remotely may therefore want to treat the schedule, rather than optimism, as the final authority.

Why are Clooney and Burstyn being honored?

George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn will each receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, placing their talks within a broader celebration of their careers rather than the usual promotional circuit for a new release.

Clooney has a long relationship with Venice and called it “without question my favorite” festival. He also joked that receiving a lifetime award “probably means I’m old,” which is one possible interpretation of being handed one of cinema’s highest honors.

Burstyn responded more directly, saying she felt “so honored, so happy, so filled with gratitude.” Her appearance on September 8 will close the masterclass series.

French director Luc Besson, whose work ranges from The Fifth Element to Léon: The Professional, occupies the middle of the schedule with his September 6 session.

What will Zhao, Żal and Guadagnino discuss?

Cartier is presenting the sessions with Chloé Zhao, Łukasz Żal and Luca Guadagnino under the theme The Art and Craft of Cinema.

Zhao will appear with Polish cinematographer Żal, her collaborator on Hamnet. The conversation gives the program a practical filmmaking focus alongside its career tributes. Zhao already has substantial Venice history: Nomadland won the Golden Lion in 2020 before collecting the Academy Award for best picture.

Guadagnino will give his class on September 7, one day before receiving the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award. The presentation is scheduled for September 8 ahead of the out-of-competition screening of his 435-minute documentary Joie de vivre. At seven hours and 15 minutes, it is not a film likely to cause complaints about insufficient material.

Cartier has sponsored the award since 2021. Guadagnino previously won Venice’s directing prize in 2022 for Bones and All. Festival director Alberto Barbera described his cinema as “nomadic, sensual, sophisticated yet widely accessible,” while Guadagnino said recognition for one’s filmmaking is an ambition no director can presume to achieve.

How does the program fit the wider festival?

Danny Boyle’s Ink will open the festival on September 2. Adapted from James Graham’s play, the drama follows Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of British newspaper The Sun and stars Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy. It will compete for the Golden Lion for best film.

The broader lineup also includes a four-hour documentary about Elon Musk, giving the festival an unmistakable interest in powerful media figures and the machinery around them. Apparently, seven-hour documentaries and billionaire studies are both part of Venice’s plan to test audience stamina.

Other competition titles include:

  • Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson and inspired by To Catch a Predator
  • Casey Affleck’s Company
  • Werner Herzog’s Bucking Fastard, featuring Kate Mara and Rooney Mara
  • Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back
  • Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine
  • Florian Zeller’s Bunker, led by Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem

Together, the classes, lifetime prizes and special screenings show Venice framing established filmmakers through both new work and career retrospectives. The festival is not merely showing films. It is building a full historical record around the people who make them, then fitting as much of that record as possible into a 250-seat arena.