It’s September in Venice, which can only mean one thing: the annual film festival, widely regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious, has landed. But alongside the premieres on the Lido and the photo calls at the Hotel Excelsior dock, there’s an equally fundamental part of these celebrations of cinema taking place all over the city: the parties.
Whether it’s fashion and jewelry brand dinners, cocktails hosted by international awards bodies, or charity galas, the evenings at the festival are just as busy as the daytime screenings—and typically take place in one of the historic five-star hotels that dot the Grand Canal for a quintessentially Venetian backdrop. Here, find Vogue’s roundup of the best parties at the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
The DVF Awards Venice, where Diane von Furstenberg now calls home, is a city that she describes as “a woman who is seductive, and offers solutions.” On Thursday evening, her beloved city—that problem-solving seductress—provided the setting for a gathering of women who tend to make things happen rather than wait for them to happen: the 17th edition of the DVF Awards. But this year, the evening at the jewel-box Teatro Goldoni carried a deeper resonance.
Following the news of Gloria Steinem’s death at 92 that same day, the celebration was dedicated to the trailblazing feminist who irrevocably changed the way the world thinks about women. (Steinem herself was honored with a DVF Award in 2014.) This year’s five honorees offered an expansive definition of what that can mean: actress and lifelong activist Jane Fonda; Gisèle Pelicot, the French survivor who turned a deeply personal ordeal into a public demand for justice; Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who has become one of the Caribbean’s most outspoken voices on climate justice, debt, and global inequality since she was elected as the country’s first female leader in 2018; photojournalist Lynsey Addario, whose career has taken her into some of the world’s most dangerous places; and Kenyan educator and entrepreneur Wawira Njiru, whose Food4Education initiative provides school meals to children and has grown into one of Kenya’s largest school-feeding programs.
If Gloria Steinem’s death cast a shadow over the evening, it was a shadow with a long reach. The women in the room were, in one way or another, standing on ground she helped clear.
Which is perhaps the best kind of tribute: not looking backward for too long, but getting on with the work. —Tiziana Cardini Aman Beverly Hills x Golden Globes The Aman hotel overlooking the Grand Canal is one of the film festival’s hotspots for celebrities seeking the utmost privacy—though many of them stepped out of their rooms on Friday night for a celebration co-hosted by the Aman Beverly Hills and the Golden Globes. A steady stream of starry names made the circuit around the lavishly decorated suite of rooms—think ceiling frescoes, silk wall coverings, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city—including Emma Corrin, Pamela Anderson, Taika Waititi, and Zoey Deutch, while sipping “Beverly Hills” cocktails whizzed up from dry gin, verbena and rosemary cordial, and Aman champagne.
Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne could be spotted chatting to Anderson, who wore a hot pink caftan gown by Oscar de la Renta, while Aman Essentials CEO Kristina Romanova was working the crowd in a sweeping Alaïa dress and an eye-popping Bvlgari diamond necklace. The Aman Beverly Hills may not be opening until 2028, but it’s already off to a glamorous start. —Liam Hess Cartier Che bello!
On Friday night, a glittering cast of film and fashion talents elegantly made their way onto the dock of the Gritti Palace from an army of grumbling water taxis, ready to celebrate Cartier’s fifth year as main sponsor of the Venice Film Festival—and the launch of the fine jewelry house’s brand-new Cartier Cinema Club, with guests including Emma Corrin, Kate Mara, Orlando Bloom, and Taylor Russell. All eyes, however, were on Amal Clooney, who arrived in a blazing red draped chiffon gown paired with an eye-popping chrysoprase, coral, and diamond Cartier pendant necklace.
Before heading to the bar, she stopped to chat with Vogue about her time at the festival with her husband, George Clooney, who received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award on Wednesday night at the opening gala. “Only at the Venice Film Festival can I watch amazing movies, but also be in the most romantic place in the world and relive some incredible moments,” she said.
“Just this trip, we went back to the place where we got married. We’re staying in the same room at the hotel where we got married, and it’s a place we come back to time and time again—there’s nowhere like it for us.” The night was also an opportunity for many of the biggest stars whose films are premiering this week, as well as some of the jury members to sit back, sip a negroni, catch up with friends, and watch the reflection of the grand Santa Maria della Salute church on the opposite bank shimmering in the black waters of the Grand Canal.
That’s why Venice is often referred to as the most glamorous film festival in the world. —Liam Hess Dior Over on the island of Giudecca, guests of Christian Dior Parfums arrived on Friday night for a cocktail at one of the city’s most scenic spots: Il Bacaro Dior at the Hotel Cipriani, which offers direct views of St. Mark’s Square and the city’s spires beyond.
There, guests including Emilia Schule, Francesca Colucci, Raya Abirached, Caterina De Angelis, and Caylee Cowan enjoyed bellinis and Champagne—as well as caprese skewers and baccalà crostini—while watching the sun fall behind the rooftops. (With the A-list crowd the Cipriani attracts during the festival, this also led to some very impressive people-watching.) The reason for the celebration?
The recent opening of the hotel’s new Dior Spa, designed by Peter Marino, which offers signature facials inspired by the city’s history and Christian Dior’s personal obsession with masquerades, and is has immediately rocketed to become one of the city’s premier wellness destinations. If you don’t believe me, just ask Jennifer Lawrence. —Liam Hess Miu Miu There are plenty of glitzy parties at Venice Film Festival, but none with quite the same sparkle as Miu Miu’s annual dinner at Ca' Corner della Regina.
Held in honor of the brand’s Women’s Tales initiative—their short film series, which this year featured new entries from Mona Fastvold and Claire Denis—it draws not only the festival’s biggest stars, but its most prestigious filmmakers too. Case in point: This year’s guest list included jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal, who could be spied chatting with The Voice of Hind Rajab director Kaouther Ben Hania, Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, and the legendary documentarian Laura Poitras, whose searing new film on the Minneapolis ICE raids premieres on Monday.
Many were drawn to the party by the prospect of having an audience with Mrs. Prada herself: at the beginning of the evening, the designer could be seen in an embroidered tunic dress, sipping Champagne, and catching up with Pamela Anderson; as the evening progressed, she took her place for dinner at a table surrounded by Zhao, Luca Guadagnino, and Orlando Bloom, with Susan Sarandon later pulling up a pew to chat.
Taika Waititi was doing the rounds, catching up with Casey Affleck and sharing a spirited conversation with Amanda Seyfried; Emma Corrin and Zoey Deutch were happiest out on the balcony, enjoying the spectacular views down the Grand Canal as gondolas and water taxis zig-zagged across the shimmering black water below. It was enough to have everyone staying and sipping wine at their tables far past midnight—even those with panel talks and screenings the next morning.
That’s how you know it’s a good party. —Liam Hess Chanel Oscar winner Marion Cotillard has swapped her usual red carpet duties for something quieter, and arguably more consequential: mentorship. The actress has signed on as mentor of promotion of the Biennale College Cinema, the Chanel-backed incubator that has spent fifteen years helping first-time directors to finish a film.
Founded by festival director Alberto Barbera and Savina Neirotti, who still runs the program, Biennale College has backed 49 feature projects with grants over the past five years. “When Chanel told me about this program, I was very touched,” Cotillard told Vogue.
In an industry fixated on box office and algorithms, Cotillard highlighted the importance of giving auteurs from around the world—some of whom lack any production opportunities at home—a chance to be heard. Watching this year’s four selected projects, she was struck by their ambition and passionate urge to tell a story.
The finalists were feted at a lunch at the Hotel Quattro Fontane: Italian director Maria Giovanna Cicciari for Demeter in Exile; Chinese director Yinan Song for Gu Shi; American director Daniel Zvereff for Moonfish; and Mexican director Gabriel Gutierrez Morales for Tijuana Todavía. Cotillard, dressed in an off-white denim pantsuit by Matthieu Blazy, also sat down for a conversation that ranged well beyond the program itself, and that touched on the underlying question: what does it actually take to get to make the work you want to make, and to keep making it on your own terms? —Tiziana Cardini amfAR It wouldn’t be a film festival without a charity gala—and nobody throws a bash quite like amfAR, the Elizabeth Taylor-founded global nonprofit dedicated to supporting HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and advocacy.
So it stands to reason that many of the week’s most notable guests flocked to the Hilton Molino Stucky on the island of Giudecca on Sunday night, ready to toast to the latest medical advancements, some of the cause’s most notable activists, and, of course, to raise money for the charity through a lively auction overseen by Simon de Pury. (This year’s lots included a set of Chopard earrings and a Warhol Flowers painting.) The evening began with cocktail hour and DJ Mia Moretti on the decks, before performances by Mimi Webb and Bebe Rexha during dinner, and several heartfelt speeches from award recipients.
Most notably, perhaps, Pamela Anderson and Marina Abramovic, who received the Award of Courage and the Award of Inspiration, respectively. Anderson’s speech touched on her own battle with hepatitis C: “My doctor told me that I probably had around 10 years to live,” she said to the crowd.
“Ten blurry years later, a cure. I was lucky: I was offered it in its early stages. … And I felt tremendous guilt that others weren’t granted the same access.
Courage expands one’s life, while fear diminishes it—the choice is ours.” The best part? The evening ended up raising nearly $3 million.
Now that’s something you can really toast to. —Liam Hess