Venice 2025 is days away — and awards season is officially on. Dylan and Craig break down the full in-competition lineup, make their Golden Lion predictions, and identify the Oscar sleepers you need to know before the first screenings drop.

On the table: Is Wild Horse Nine the safest Golden Lion bet, or can Lee Chang-dong's long-awaited Possible Love pull off a surprise? Why Florian Zeller's Bunker (Penélope Cruz, Paul Dano, Stephen Graham) could be the dark horse Oscar launch of the festival. The shocking stat about South Korean cinema at the Oscars — only ONE nomination ever, and it won Best Picture. Plus: the late-addition NASA documentary from the No Other Land directors (produced by Jonathan Glazer), Maggie Gyllenhaal as jury president and what that signals, Nanni Moretti's return to Venice after 36 years, and a brief history of how Venice went from the Mussolini Cup to Hollywood's favourite awards launchpad.

Films discussed: Wild Horse Nine · Possible Love · Ink · Bunker · Primetime · Company · Look Back · Woman Unknown · NASA · All of a Sudden · Minotaur · Nomadland · The Shape of Water · Poor Things · Roma · Joker

Categories: Best Picture · Best International Feature Film · Best Documentary · Golden Lion

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Chapters:

0:00 Introduction & news

8:11 Venice history

15:07 Golden Lion predictions

23:31 Oscar sleepers & dark horses

32:26 Personal picks & wrap-up