Gal Gadot, Hagai Levi among Israeli talent headed to Venice Film Festival

The organizers of the 2025 Venice International Film Festival revealed the program for the festival’s 82nd edition on Tuesday. This year’s lineup includes two productions featuring Israeli representation.

The first is a new mini-series by Israeli director and screenwriter Hagai Levi ("In Treatment," and "Our Boys"). Levi's latest project, titled “Etty,” is a French-German-Dutch co-production created in collaboration with the Franco-German TV channel Arte and the international production company Sipur. The series tells the story of Etty Hillesum, a young Dutch-Jewish woman who perished in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943.

Hillesum, who was 29 at the time of her death, left behind diaries that were discovered nearly four decades later. In them, she recounts her turbulent relationship with Julius Spier, a German psycho-chirologist she befriended while studying at the University of Amsterdam. The series stars Austrian actress Julia Windischbauer as Hillesum, German actor Sebastian Koch as Spier, and Evgenia Dodina as Hillesum’s mother, Riva.

The series, a modern and bold adaptation of Hillesum's story, will be screened in its entirety at the festival – all six episodes. Four years ago, Levi also participated in the festival with his mini-series "Scenes from a Marriage", inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film and produced in collaboration with HBO, starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain.

“I’m excited and happy to return to the Venice Festival with "Etty". I couldn’t imagine a better stage to present my work,” Levi said today.

“Etty Hillesum’s diaries have deeply influenced my life since I came across them over a decade ago. In these times of war, hatred, and despair, I believe the compassion and faith that Etty offers in her words – written more than 80 years ago – are more relevant than ever. This series is very close to my heart, and I hope it finds its way into many others’ hearts as well.”

Another production participating in the festival, though outside the official competition, is “In the Hand of Dante”, the new film by Jewish-American director Julian Schnabel (who also directed the multiple award winning film “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”). The film features Israeli movie star Gal Gadot, alongside a diverse cast including Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino, John Malkovich, and even veteran director Martin Scorsese.

Schnabel’s film is based on a 2002 novel by Nick Tosches. At its center is a manuscript of the poem "The Divine Comedy" by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, which is discovered in the Vatican Library.

The manuscript passes from a priest to a Mafia boss in New York, where it’s taken by Tosches himself, who is asked to verify its authenticity. Then, like Dante, Tosches embarks on a journey of his own.

The Venice International Film Festival will take place from August 27 to September 6.

The festival will open with Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s new film "La grazia." Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement awards will be presented to German director Werner Herzog and American film star Kim Novak.