Murdoch and Musk Face Film Scrutiny at Venice Festival
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- Danny Boyle opens the 83rd Venice Film Festival with Ink, a film dramatizing Rupert Murdoch’s 1969 acquisition of The Sun, starring Guy Pearce as the media tycoon and written by James Graham.
- Alex Gibney premieres his four-hour documentary Musk at Venice, profiling Elon Musk’s ascent as the world’s wealthiest person and owner of social network X, screened out of competition.
- Venice Film Festival positions itself as the most glamorous of Europe’s top three festivals, drawing major stars like Robert Pattinson, Penélope Cruz, and Javier Bardem to its 2026 lineup.
- Rupert Murdoch is portrayed in Ink as a transformative and sensationalizing force in British media following his takeover of The Sun, a moment that reshaped public discourse.
- Elon Musk is examined in Gibney’s documentary as both a technological innovator and rightwing agitator, with the film entering the festival circuit amid ongoing scrutiny of his public influence.
- Alberto Barbera, the festival’s artistic director, unveiled a lineup that includes Nanni Moretti’s first Venice competition entry since 1989 and a notable drop in female-directed films in the main category.
Why it matters: With two major films targeting Murdoch and Musk, the festival elevates media power and its societal consequences into central cultural discourse, giving filmmakers a platform to challenge figures whose reach extends across news, politics, and technology—while the underrepresentation of female directors in competition underscores ongoing inequities in the industry.
