Charli XCX Starrer ‘100 Nights of Hero’ to Close Venice Critics’ Week

On Monday, the side event of the Venice Film Festival, known as Venice Critics’ Week, announced its program. This includes the selection of the opening and closing films, as well as the seven films competing in the main competition.

The section runs Aug. 27-Sept. 6.

Stereo Girls, a drama by Caroline Deruas Peano depicting the bond between two 17-year-old girls set in the ’90s, is going to kick off Venice Critics’ Week, being screened out of competition. On the other hand, 100 Nights of Hero, Julia Jackman’s “feminist fable” featuring Emma Corrin, Charli XCX, Maika Monroe, Nicholas Galitzine, Richard E. Grant, Amir El-Masry, and Felicity Jones, will bring the curtain down on this sidebar.

2025’s competition schedule will feature Giulio Bertelli’s drama, “Agon,” focusing on female athletes competing in a fictional Olympics; “Straight Circle,” a dark comedy revolving around two soldiers stationed in a remote barracks; the debut of music video director Oscar Hudson; and Imran Perretta’s film, “Ish,” which delves into the lingering effects of a traumatic police stop and search on two 12-year-old boys.

On Tuesday, the list of films competing in the main competition at Venice will be revealed. Renowned director Alexander Payne, who has won two Oscars for his work on “The Holdovers,” “Sideways,” and “Nebraska,” will lead the jury as its president. Accompanying him will be Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, French director and screenwriter Stéphane Brizé (“At War”), Italian director and screenwriter Maura Delpero (“Vermiglio”), Romanian Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu (“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”), and Chinese actress Zhao Tao (“Ash Is the Purest White”).

Check out the full Venice Critics’ Week program below.

Venice Critics’ Week

The following films are competing for various awards at the festival:

* Agon, by Giulio Bertelli (Italy, U.S., France)
* Cotton Queen, by Suzannah Mirghani (Germany, France, Palestine, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
* Gorgonà, by Evi Kologiropoulu (Greece, France)
* Ish, by Imran Perretta (U.K.)
* Roqia, by Yanis Koussim (Algeria, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
* Straight Circle, by Oscar Hudson (U.K.)
* Waking Hours, by Federico Cammarata and Filippo Foscarini (Italy)

The following films are not in competition but will be shown:

* Opening Film: Stereo Girls, by Caroline Deruas Peano (France, Canada)
* Closing Film: 100 Nights of Hero, by Julia Jackman (U.K.)

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2025-07-21 13:55