The American artist and filmmaker will world premiere his new film ‘In the Hand of Dante’ Out of Competition on the Lido, plus will receive Cartier’s Glory to the Filmmaker 2025 Award on the evening of September 3rd.
Wow. Where to begin with Julian Schnabel.
There are artists who not only capture one’s imagination but, with each work, seem to explain our inner thoughts and feelings. For me, Schnabel is that artist, and his legacy, his inspiration runs so deep that even his offsprings become instant favorites.
That I got to meet him, a long, long time ago, in a country far, far away seems like a distant dream. And yet, when I sat down with him, feeling a bit weary since he’d just come from scolding some fellow journalists for not having come prepared and watched his film prior to asking him questions, he managed to make that moment magical. I apologized for having to lean back during out chat, instructed by our camera crew, and he put me at ease. A small gesture, yet one I will never forget.
Months later, as his then current film Miral was struggling to get released by The Weinstein Company, yes that Weinstein’s company, I visited the writer of the film at Schnabel’s home in the West Village, in NYC. He came in to say hello at the end of our lunch and brought out a gift, to thank me for all my efforts in getting the film watched. I was writing for the HuffPost back then, in the days of Arianna Huffington when it was still a reputable publication, and my voice carried some weight.
Schnabel disappeared into another room for a moment, and came out with a copy of Julian Schnabel: Art and Film, a book which included his artwork as well as scripts to four of his films. He signed it and I cherished that piece of history for many hard years to come. Then, as I was selling my Italian apartment and packing things away, the book disappeared. Was it a sign? Or had the artist’s kindness accompanied me as far as I needed to go, replaced instead by another film, and inshallah, another chat to follow, soon? Only time will tell, but I can’t tell you how many times I went through my books to look for it, only to come up empty handed and disappointed yet again.
If you wonder why you never watched his 2010 film Miral, which came before Schnabel’s Vincent Van Gogh late life biopic titled At Eternity’s Gate, it’s because the very Jewish NYC artist made a film written by the very Palestinian Italian writer Rula Jebreal about what it was like for her to grow up in Palestine/Israel and what brought her to another land, securing her personal success. Miral was extraordinary, probably remains one of my favorite films ever, which occupy a special shelf in my heart as works of the Seventh Art that bring me to tears each time I watch them. Schnabel’s Basquiat also does that, but that’s another story for a different day.
Miral — which won both the UNESCO and the UNICEF awards at the Venice Film Festival in 2010 and screened at the General Assembly Hall of the U.N — explained everything we needed to know so we would avoid getting to this tragic moment where we find ourselves, when it comes to Gaza and Israel. But the majority of film viewers were not ready to hear/watch that, film critics derided it because of their own failings and so Miral did relatively well but didn’t break any records. And is probably, wrongly, avoided in any conversation about Julian Schnabel.
And now onto the new film and his upcoming award by Cartier.
La Biennale di Venezia and Cartier announced earlier today that the American artist and director is the recipient of the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The festival will run from August 27th to September 6th, 2025 on the Lido. The award is usually dedicated to a personality who has made a particularly original contribution to the contemporary film industry.
The award ceremony for Julian Schnabel will take place on Wednesday September 3rd 2025 in the Sala Grande inside the Palazzo del Cinema, at 9.30 pm, before the screening Out of Competition of his new film, In the Hand of Dante (USA/Italy, 150') featuring Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino, John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese, Jason Momoa, Louis Cancelmi and Franco Nero.
Oscar Isaac and Gal Gadot in a still from ‘In the Hand of Dante’ by © Alex Majoli, used with permission
Schnabel, in hearing he was slated to receive this honor, candidly admitted: “I first stepped foot in Venice in November of 1976. At the time, I went to Padua to see the Scrovegni Chapel of Giotto and to see the paintings in Venice. I never dreamed that I would become a filmmaker, let alone be honored with this award, and be included alongside so many filmmakers I admire, because in fact I am a painter. But I guess I am a filmmaker as well. I’ve now shown my films at the Venice Film Festival for almost 30 years, and to receive the Glory to the Filmmaker Award for the world premiere of my new film In the Hand of Dantemeans so much to me, as tracking Dante and Nick’s trajectory in this film has somehow mirrored my own life. Thank you. I couldn’t be happier about this.”
Welcoming this announcement, the Director of the Venice Film Festival Alberto Barbera added: “Each of Julian Schnabel’s films is a world of its own. None is like the one before or the one after. Yet, it is not a coincidence that most of them are portraits of artists and passionate depictions of the artistic process. As generous as it is wildly imaginative, Schnabel’s cinematic output is a gift to film, articulated through a wholly original language. His new feature, In the Hand of Dante, is his most ambitious project to date. As Martin Scorsese said when asked to describe them, Schnabel’s films are ‘abundant, overflowing and vibrating with life, pulse. There is always more in the frame to see, to experience, and to feel'.”
Arnaud Carrez Senior Vice President Chief Marketing Officer at Cartier International, concluded: “The Maison is very pleased to present this year’s Glory to the Filmmaker Award to Julian Schnabel, in honour of his original contribution to the film industry. The unbridled creativity of each of his films invites us into captivating universes through a painter’s sensitivity and visual language. This encounter between artistic sensibility and a dedication to creation marks a precious rarity that is dear to the Maison.”
Past masterpieces by Schnabel have included his second film, Before Night Falls, which won the Venice Grand Jury Prize and the Coppa Volpi for best actor for Javier Bardem in 2000; his 2007 four-time Oscar nominated film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for which Schnabel received the Best Director award both in Cannes and at the Golden Globes, where the film won also the award for Best Foreign Film; and countless works of visual art which are too many to count.
Based on the novel by Nick Tosches and adapted by Louise Kugelberg together with Julian Schnabel, In the Hand of Dante is the story of a handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri's poem The Divine Comedy that makes its way from a priest to a mob boss in New York City, where it is taken by Nick Tosches after he's asked to verify its authenticity. The film is produced by DreamCrew Entertainment, MeMo Films, TWIN Productions and Artofficial Productions. International Distribution: WME Independent.
All images courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia, used with permission.