Finally, Venice Film Festival attendees can rest their hands. That’s after days of clapping and hollering at premieres, resulting in standing ovations that lasted into the double digits.

But lengthy rounds of applause don’t necessarily translate to gold statues. After warm receptions in Italy, which films on the 2025 lineup will find their way into the awards race? Venice has more and more been able to position itself as a major launchpad for the Oscars — and this year’s slate offered such hopefuls as Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s latest collaboration “Bugonia” ( six-minute ovation ), Bennie Safdie’s wrestling drama “The Smashing Machine,” starring Dwayne Johnson ( 15-minute ovation ) and director Mona Fastvold’s musical epic “The Testament of Ann Lee” with Amanda Seyfried as a

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