Venice 83 begins with restoration: Tinto Brass's "Deadly Sweet" in the pre-opening

This newspaper has followed the construction of the programme for the 83rd Venice Mostra, from the announcement of the opening film to the Golden Lions for lifetime achievement awarded to George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn. The last piece concerns the evening that precedes everything else.

The pre-opening is set for Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 9pm, in the Sala Darsena at the Venice Lido: “Deadly Sweet” (1967) by Tinto Brass, with Jean-Louis Trintignant and Ewa Aulin, will be screened. The film was restored in 4K digital by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia with support from Netflix, as indicated in the official programme reported by VeraClasse.

Who pays for the restoration

The industrial detail deserves more attention than the evening itself. The restoration of a 1967 Italian film is carried out by a public institution — the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, which preserves the national film heritage — with the financial support of a subscription distribution platform. This is now a frequent model: preservation requires resources that archives do not fully possess, platforms have an interest in catalogues with restored auteur titles, and the meeting produces high-definition copies that would otherwise remain in waiting for years.

The consideration is not disclosed in the programme, and this is not a secondary detail: the audience who will see the copy in the Sala Darsena will not know, from the programme notes, what exploitation rights accompany the operation. This is the information that distinguishes a restoration for pure preservation from a restoration with commercial destination.

The calendar

From September 2 to 12, 2026, the actual Mostra takes place, directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale di Venezia, recognized by the FIAPF, the international federation of film producers associations.

Date	Event
September 1	Pre-opening, restored “Deadly Sweet”
September 2	Opening with Danny Boyle’s “Ink”
September 3	Public opening in Sala Darsena, “The Girl with the Leica” by Alina Marazzi
September 5	“The Fire That You Carry Inside” by Edoardo De Angelis
September 12	Closing with “God Laughs” by Giovanni Veronesi

“Ink” is presented as a world premiere and in competition, with Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy. The opening and closing evenings are hosted by Greta Scarano and Nicolas Maupas. The international jury of the competition is chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal, joined by Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Kawthar ibn Haniyya, Shahrbanu Sadat and Johnnie To.

Among the titles in competition are new films by Werner Herzog, Lee Chang-dong, Hirokazu Kore’eda, Martin McDonagh and Nanni Moretti, who returns to the Venice competition after thirty-seven years with “Tonight It Will Happen”. The lineup — with two East Asian auteurs among the main names — is reconstructed by Lost in Cinema and by the official calendar published by LaPresse.

At the same time, the 41st International Critics’ Week, directed by Beatrice Fiorentino, and the 23rd edition of the Giornate degli autori take place: two autonomous sections occupying the same period and the same Lido, with selections independent from that of the competition.

What we don’t know

The programme does not specify the extent of Netflix’s financial contribution to the restoration nor the duration of any related rights. It is not indicated whether the restored copy will have a theatrical distribution after the Venice screening.

Regarding the competition, the available material does not report the total number of films in the race nor the date on which the jury chaired by Gyllenhaal will award the prizes: the published calendar only indicates that the Mostra closes on September 12 with Giovanni Veronesi’s “God Laughs”, and does not anticipate a screening order beyond what has already been made known.

Sources: VeraClasse, based on the official programme of the Biennale di Venezia; Lost in Cinema; LaPresse; Lifestyle Made in Italy; Today.it.