Clooney, Burstyn, Guadagnino and More: Venice Reveals 2026 Masterclass Lineup

The Venice Film Festival has revealed its masterclass lineup for the 83rd edition, and the guest list runs from Hollywood royalty to arthouse favourites. George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn, both receiving the festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, will each take the stage for audience conversations during the 11-day event on the Lido di Venezia, running 2 to 12 September 2026. The masterclasses themselves run from 3 to 9 September at the Match Point Arena, a venue seating roughly 270 guests, and will be livestreamed on the festival's website, labiennale.org (Variety).

Clooney, 65, is first up on 3 September at 4 p.m. Burstyn, 93, follows on 8 September at the same hour. Both will be honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement — the festival's top career prize — during the 2026 edition (Variety).

Italian director Luca Guadagnino, whose films include "Call Me by Your Name" and "Challengers," will give his masterclass on 7 September at 3:30 p.m. He is also set to receive Cartier's Glory to the Filmmaker Award, a prize recognising a body of work, at this year's festival. Guadagnino's session falls under a masterclass strand titled "The Art and Craft of Cinema," presented by Cartier (Variety).

That same Cartier-presented strand features Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning director whose latest film "Hamnet" is awaited on the festival circuit. Zhao's masterclass on 4 September at 3:30 p.m. will be a conversation with Polish cinematographer Lukasz Zal, her collaborator on "Hamnet." Two filmmakers trading notes on the craft, in other words, rather than a solo speech (Variety).

French director Luc Besson, whose credits range from "Léon: The Professional" to "The Fifth Element," is also on the bill. His masterclass is scheduled for 6 September at 4 p.m. (Variety).

The masterclasses are among the most popular ticketed events at Venice, and the venue's small capacity — the festival's own programme PDF lists the space at 268-plus seats — means in-person spots go quickly. The livestream on labiennale.org opens the conversations to a global audience, a practice the festival has expanded in recent years (Variety; labiennale.org programme).

Beyond the masterclasses, the 2026 festival's competition lineup includes Robert Pattinson's "Primetime" and a new film from Martin McDonagh, the writer-director of "The Banshees of Inisherin." Those titles were announced when the full selection was revealed in July (Variety).

For festivalgoers and streamers alike, the masterclass schedule offers a rare chance to hear working film-makers discuss their craft in detail — not on a press junket, but in front of an audience that has come specifically to listen.